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This  book  is  due  at  the  LOUIS  R.  WILSON  LIBRARY  on  the 
last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold  it  may  be 
renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 

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\1 

A  NARRATIVE  OF 
THE  NEGRO 


BY 


MRS.  LEILA  AMOS  PENDLETON 

Formerly  a  Teacher  in    the    Public    Schools    of   Washington,  D.  C;  founder 

(in  1898)    of  the  Alpha  Charity  Club  of  Anacostia,  and  for  thirteen  years 

its  president;    founder  and  president  of   the  Social   Purity  Club    of 

Washington;    Vice-President  for  the  District  of  Columbia  of  the 

Northeastern    Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  ;  Secretary  of 

the  National  Association  of    Assemblies  of  the  Order  of 

the    Golden    Circle,    Auxiliary    to    the    Scottish 

Rite    of   Freemasonry,    S.  J.,  U.  S.  A. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C: 

Press  of  R.  L.  Pendleton,  609  F  Street,  N.  W 
1  9  1  2 


Copyrighted 

\\  Mrs,  Leila  Amos  Pendleton 

i  9  i  2 


! 


PREFACE. 

This  little  volume  contains,  in  story  form,  a  brief  outline 
of  the  history  of  the  Negro.  In  collating  the  facts  herein  set 
forth  it  was  my  privilege  to  consult  the  Congressional  Library 
at  Washington,  the  libraries  of  Harvard  and  Yale  universities 
and  the  Boston  Public  Library.  I  am  fully  aware  that  such 
opportunities  should  have  insured  a  better  book,  but  I  earnestly 
hope  that  the  motive  which  prompts  me  may  cause  the  short- 
comings and  imperfections  of  the  work  to  be  forgiven. 

1  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  the  following 
authors:  Hereen  (Historical  Researches),  Edmund  D,  Morel, 
Robert  P.  Skinner,  Edward  Howell,  T.  J.  Alldridge,  J.  V. 
Delacroix,  J.  J.  Crooks,  Frederick  Douglass,  Thomas  Ashe, 
records  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  W.  J.  Gardner, 
John  Atkins,  John  Bigelow,  Hasting  Charles  Dent,  Frank 
Wiborg,  J.  W.  Birch,  Joseph  A.  Tillinghast,  Rev.  Robert 
Walsh,  Increase  N.  Tarbox,  Lydia  Maria  Child,  Sir  Harry 
Johnston,  Sir  Henry  M.  Stanley,  Dr.  W.  E.  B.  Dubois,  Prof. 
Kelly  Miller,  Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington,  Charles  W.  Williams, 
Joseph  T.  Wilson,  William  Still,  W.  H.  Grimshaw,  James  M. 
Trotter,  W.  H.  Crogman,  J.  T.  Headley,  B.  J.  Lossing,  J.  W. 
Gibson,  Zachary  Macaulay,  Edward  W.  Blyden,  J.  J.  Pippin, 
Mrs.  E.  M.  O'Connor,  Mrs.  F.  B.  Williams,  Andrew  Carnegie, 
G.  W.  Forbes. 

For  assistance  in  other  directions,  I  wish,  also,  to  thank  Hon. 
Robert  Spurgeon,  Brooklyn;  Mr.  Reginald  Peters,  St.  Kitts; 
and  Miss  Beatrice  Le  Strange,  of  Boston.  Because  of  his 
unfailing  interest,  encouragement  and  advice  in  this  attempt  I 
owe  most  of  all  to  my  husband. 

In  presenting  this  narrative,  as  a  sort  of  "  family  story  "  to 
the  colored  children  of  America,  it  is  my  fervent  hope  that  they 
may  hereby  acquire  such  an  earnest  desire  for  greater  informa- 
tion as  shall  compellingly  lead  them,  in  maturer  years,  to  the 
many  comprehensive  and  erudite  volumes  which  have  been 
O     written  upon  this  subject. 

Lfjla  Amos  Picndijcton. 
^      Washington,  D.  C,  March,  1912. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/narrativeofnegroOOpend 


LEILA  AMOS  PENDLETON 


A  Narrative  of  the  Negro. 


CHAPTER  I. 
A  TALK  WITH  THE  CHILDREN. 

MOST  girls  and  boys,  who  are  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
years  old  can  tell,  if  one  should  ask  them,  many  inter- 
esting things  about  America,  the  country  in  which  we 
live  and  most  children  whose  foreparents  came  from  Europe 
or  Asia  have  been  taught  to  love  those  countries  just  because 
their  kinfolk  once  lived  there.  Many  little  colored  children  can 
draw  a  map  of  Africa,  tell  some  of  its  products  and  describe 
some  of  its  people ;  I  wonder  how  many  have  been  taught  to 
think  of  Africa  with  interest  and  affection,  because  our  great, 
great  grandparents  came  from  that  continent?  Perhaps  if  we 
talk  awhile  about  our  Motherland  and  some  of  the  notable 
things  which  have  happened  there,  we  shall  all  learn  to  love 
that  wonderful  country  and  be  proud  of  it. 

In  these  talks,  though  sometimes  the  adjective  "  colored  " 
will  be  used  just  as  the  word  "  white  "  is  frequently  made  use 
of,  we  shall,  as  a  rule  speak  of  ourselves  as  "  Negroes  "  and 
always  begin  the  noun  with  a  capital  letter.  It  is  true  that  the 
word  Negro  is  considered  by  some  a  term  of  contempt  and  for 
that  reason,  many  of  us  wince  at  it ;  but  history  tells  us  that 
when  England  had  been  conquered  by  the  Normans,  centuries 
ago,  and  the  Norman  barons  were  beating,  starving  and  killing 
the  natives,  the  name  "Englishman"  was  considered  an  abusive 
term,  and  the  greatest  insult  one  Norman  could  offer  another 
was  to  call  him  an  "  Englishman."  You  know  that  now  all  who 
claim  England  as  home  are  justly  proud  of  it,  and  no  English- 
man is  ashamed  of  that  name. 

If  history  repeats  itself,  as  we  are  often  told  it  does,  the  time 
will  come  when  our  whole  race  will  feel  it  an  honor  to  be  called 
"  Negroes."     Let  us  each  keep  that  hope  before  us  and  hasten 


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MAP  OF  AFRICA 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO         9 

CHAPTER  II. 

GEOGRAPHY  OF  AFRICA. 

LET  us  look  at  a  map  of  the  Eastern  Hemisphere.  In  the 
northern  part  we  see  Europe  and  Asia,  and  southwest  of 
these  lies  Africa,  almost  entirely  in  the  Torrid  Zone.  As 
vast  as  is  the  United  States,  the  continent  of  Africa  contain? 
more  than  three  times  as  many  square  miles.  In  the  northeast- 
ern part  of  Africa  we  see  Egypt,  moving  westward  we  come  to 
what  are  called  the  Barbary  States  — -  Tripoli,  Fezzan,  Tunis 
and  Morocco.  Remember  these  countries,  for  on  their  soil 
many  of  the  most  important  events  of  the  ancient  world  took 
place.  Some  hundreds  of  years  before  our  Saviour  was  born 
in  Bethlehem,  hundreds  of  years  before  men  had  even  heard 
the  names  "  England,"  "  France,"  "  German},"  "  America," 
the  people  of  northern  Africa  were  engaged  in  building  cities, 
sailing  the  waters  and  rearing  statues  and  monuments,  some  of 
which  latter  are  standing  until  this  day. 

Let  us  now  start  from  Alexandria  in  Egypt  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea  and  sail  down  the  east  coast  of  Africa.  We  may 
touch  the  coasts  of  Nubia,  Eritrea,  French  Somali  coast, 
British  Somaliland,  Italian  Somaliland,  British  Ea^t  Africa, 
German  East  Africa,  Portuguese  East  Africa,  Transvaal, 
Natal,  and  at  the  southernmost  part  of  the  continent  we 
find  Cape  Colony,  while  jutting  out  from  the  very  tip 
of  Cape  Colony  is  the  famous  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  And 
now  we  start  up  the  west  coast  passing  German  Southwest 
Africa,  Angola,  French  Congo,  Kamerun,  Nigeria,  Dahomey, 
Ashanti,  French  West  Africa,  Liberia,  Sierra  Leone,  French 
and  Portuguese  Guinea,  British  Gambia,  Rio  de  Ora,  and  so 
back  to  the  Barbary  States  and  Egypt. 

In  our  travels  we  sailed  through  the  Suez  Canal,  which 
cuts  Africa  off  from  Asia  and  make-  of  it  an  island  continent; 
down  the  Red  Sea  where  Pharaoh  and  his  army  were  drowned; 
through  the  Gulf  of  Aden;  clown  the  Indian  Ocean;  through 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


the  Mozambique  Channel,  which  separates  Africa  and  the 
island  of  Madagascar ;  around  Cape  Good  Hope,  where  the 
winds  and  the  waves  have  made  it  very  dangerous  for  us ;  up 
the  South  Atlantic  Ocean ;  through  the  Gulf  of  Guinea ;  into 
the  Atlantic  again,  and  through  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  On  the 
north  coast  of  Gibraltar  stands  the  great  rock  considered  by  the 
ancients  the  western  boundary  of  the  world  and  prized  by  the 
English  who  now  own  it  as  one  of  their  most  important  posses- 
sions. Leaving  Gibraltar  we  find  ourselves  again  in  the  Medi- 
terranean and  back  to  Egypt.  While  sailing  up  the  South 
Atlantic  and  passing  southern  Angola,  we  should  have  taken 
a  long  look  directly  out  to  sea,  for  in  that  direction  but  more 
than  one  thousand  miles  away  lies  the  little  island  of  St.  Helena 
where  Napoleon  Bonapart  was  held  prisoner  and  where  he 
died. 

But  with  all  this  travelling  we  have  seen  nothing  of  the  great 
heart  of  Africa,  which  in  ancient  times  was  sometimes  called 
Libya,  sometimes  Ethiopia,  where  dwell  millions  of  people, 
thousands  of  wild  animals,  fruits  and  vegetables  in  greatest 
profusion  and  where  many  of  the  articles  highly  prized  by 
civilized  man  are  to  be  found  in  abundance  —  diamonds,  gold, 
ivory,  india  rubber,  ebony,  ostrich  feathers  and  many  other 
valuable  articles.  Among  the  native  animals  of  Africa  are 
elephants,  lions,  monkeys,  snakes  of  many  kinds,  leopards, 
camels,  giraffs,  gorillas,  wolves,  jackals,  hyenas,  zebras,  rhin- 
osceros,  buffalos,  and  many  species  of  birds  of  beautiful  plu- 
mage. How  would  our  "  zoos  "  and  our  circuses  manage  if  it 
were  not  for  Africa?  In  some  parts  of  Africa  sugar  cane, 
cotton  and  the  coffee  plant  grow  wild  and  beside  these  apples. 
peaches,  plums,  grapes,  pomegranates,  dates,  spices,  cereals, 
melons,  gourds,  cocoanuts  and  many  other  fruits  and  vege- 
tables are  to  be  found. 

Looking  again  at  the  map  we  see  just  below  the  northern 
countries  and  stretching  from  east  to  west  almost  the  entire 
width  of  the  continent,  the  Sahara  and  Libyan  deserts  —  the 
greatest  in  the  world,     Below  these  lies  the  Soudan,  farther 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


south  and  crossed  by  the  Equator  is  the  Congo  Free  State, 
which  is  anything  but  free ;  while  still  farther  south  we  find 
Matabele  and  the  Transvaal.  I  hope  you  will  remember  the 
location  of  the  different  countries  of  Africa,  for  we  shall  speak 
of  many  of  them  again. 

There  are  many  deserts  in  Africa  but  the  Sahara  is  the 
greatest  of  them  all.  As  you  know,  a  desert  is  a  large  tract 
of  land  where  the  ground  is  sandy,  patched  and  dry  and  where 
rain  seldom  or  never  falls.  In  Sahara,  which  is  1,000  miles 
wide  and  2,000  miles  long,  the  sand  is  almost  always  moving 
and  when  the  fierce  windstorms  arise,  as  they  frequently  do, 
the  sand  is  blown  about  in  huge  billows  like  the  waves  of  the 
ocean,  and  the  camel,  which  has  been  called  "  the  ship  of  the 
desert  "  is  the  only  beast  of  burden  which  can  cross  the  dread- 
ful wastes.  The  few  underground  springs  scattered  here  and 
there,  sustain  grass  and  bushes  as  far  around  them  as  their 
moisture  reaches.  These  green  and  fertile  spots  are  called 
oases  and  they  are  the  only  places  in  the  desert  where  men  and 
beasts  can  obtain  rest  and  refreshment.  Anyone  who  attempts 
to  cross  Sahara  may  expect  many  hardships  —  thousands  have 
lost  their  lives  in  the  attempt.  So  here  we  have  one  reason 
why  not  many  of  the  ancient  civilized  Africans  went  south- 
ward for  any  purpose. 

Indeed  the  whole  of  Africa  was  and  is  little  suited  for  com- 
fortable traveling.  The  rivers  contain  many  rapids,  waterfalls, 
etc.,  which  cause  them  to  be  in  some  places  almost  entirely 
unnavigable.  All  kinds  of  vegetation  flourish  in  this  tropical 
country;  swamps  and  jungles  abound,  especially  in  central 
Africa,  and  its  mountains  are  covered  with  dense  forests.  The 
climate  which  is  very  hot  and  enervating  makes  travelling  quite 
unpleasant  aside  from  the  other  drawbacks,  and  so,  for  hun- 
dreds of  years  very  few  serious  attempts  were  made  to  find  out 
just  what  kind  of  country  Africa  really  was. 

In  modern  times  much  has  been  done  toward  making  a 
journey  in  Africa  more  agreeable.  Many  miles  of  railroad 
have  been  laid  in  different  parts  of  the  continent;  there  is  one 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


road  running  for  some  hundreds  of  miles  across  the  Libyan 
desert,  and  another  from  the  coast  of  British  East  Africa  to 
Victoria  Nyanza,  while  a  road  from  the  Cape  to  Cairo  has  long 
been  planned. 

The  Congo,  the  Niger,  and  the  Nile  are  the  three  great  rivers 
of  Africa;  the  Nile,  wonderful  and  mysterious,  comes  up  out 
of  the  central  part  of  the  continent  through  Egypt  and  empties 
into  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Though  long  it  is  at  ordinary 
times  but  a  narrow  river,  yet  every  year  it  overflows  its  banks 
flooding  the  surrounding  country ;  but  it  is  a  kindly  flood  for 
it  fertilizes  the  soil  and  the  prosperity  of  each  successive  season 
depends  upon  "  Father  Nile."  The  Niger  flows  through  the 
northwestern  part  of  Africa  and  the  Congo  through  the  south- 
western part. 

In  its  Nile  and  its  Sahara,  in  its  climate,  in  its  jungles  and  its 
mountains,  in  its  wild  animals,  its  vegetable  products  and  arti- 
cles of  value  in  commerce  Africa  stands  alone  and  unrivaled. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


13 


CHAPTER  III. 
ANCIENT  CIVILIZATION. 

THOUSANDS  of  years  ago,  far  up  the  river  Nile  and  near 
the  modern  Senaar,  flourished  the  Ethiopian  kingdom 
of   Meroe.     Many  statues   and   monuments  have   been 
unearthed  in  this  region  from  time  to  time,  and  it  is  from  the 


ANCIENT  CIVILIZATION 

writings,  pictures  and  carvings  upon  these  that  most  of  our 
knowledge  of  this  ancient  country  comes. 

These  statues  were  erected  to  the  idols  or  gods  whom  the 
people  worshipped  because  they  did  not  know  the  true  God  ; 
the  monuments  were  built  with  passages  and  chambers  and 
were  used  as  temples  for  the  worship  of  their  gods ;  so  while 
no  trace  is  now  found  of  the  dwellings  of  the  people  their 


i4  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


temples  covered  with  pictures  show  plainly  their  manner  of 
living  and  of  worship  as  well  as  many  other  things  of  interest. 

The  city  called  Meroe  was  the  seat  of  government,  or  as  we 
say  in  these  days  the  capital,  and  the  rulers  were  chosen  from 
among  the  priests.  Some  very  interesting  things  are  told  of 
the  manner  of  choosing  a  king  and  the  rules  by  which  he  was 
governed.  As  in  most  ancient  countries,  the  men  who  were 
by  nature  the  cleverest  made  themselves  priests  and  whenever 
a  new  king  was  selected,  they  pretended  their  gods. had  selected 
him.  As  soon  as  the  choice  was  made  known  the  people  fell 
down  before  the  king  and  gave  him  all  honor.  He  was  beauti- 
fully clothed  and  given  great  power  but  he  could  not  go  beyond 
what  the  laws  of  the  country  allowed,  so  that  Meroe  was  what 
is  called  a  limited  or  constitutional  monarchy. 

When  the  priests  felt  that  the  king  had  reigned  long  enough, 
they  sent  to  him  a  messenger  with  the  emblem  of  death ;  as 
soon  as  the  poor  king  saw  this  emblem  he  was  compelled  to 
retire  at  once  and  kill  himself.  So  you  see  that  even  in  those 
days  to  be  a  king  was  not  always  to  be  either  safe  or  happy. 

The  city  of  Meroe  was  a  lively,  bustling  place,  for  its  streets 
were  crowded  with  caravans  bringing  in  from  the  surrounding 
regions,  gold,  silver,  copper,  salt,  iron,  frankincense,  etc.  These 
articles  were  sent  down  to  Egypt  and  along  with  them  went 
ideas  which  were  even  more  valuable  than  the  articles  of  com- 
merce. The  Egyptians  enlarged  upon  and  continued  the  civili- 
zation which  was  begun  in  Ethiopia,  especially  in  the  kingdom 
of  Meroe  and  even  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  are  merely  larger 
and  elaborated  copies  of  those  whose  remains  are  dug  up 
around  the  site  of  Meroe. 

Remember  that  in  this  old,  old  kingdom  king  and  court, 
priests  and  worshipers,  merchants  and  householders  were 
Negroes. 

On  both  sides  of  the  Nile  have  been  found  the  ruins  of 
ancient  cities,  at  least  twenty  on  either  side,  and  learned  men 
have  taken  great  pleasure  in  bringing  to  light  the  buried  evi- 
dences of  what  was  once  the  busiest  and  most  prosperous  part 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  15 


of  the  world ;  these  ruins  stretch  from  beyond  Aleroe  down  to 
Egypt.  We  shall  be  able  to  take,  here,  but  a  glance  at  Egypt 
for  you  may  find  many  books  on  that  country.  Many  persons 
have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  study  of  ancient  Egypt,  and  it 
has  been  made  so  important  a  branch  of  human  knowledge  as 
to  have  a  name  of  its  own  —  Egyptology. 

Some  historians  tell  us  very  plainly  that  the  Egyptians  were 
not  Africans  at  all  and  so  Negroes  need  not  be  proud  of  what 
they  did,  but  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  natives  had 
obligingly  left  that  most  fertile  region  uninhabited  to  await  the 
coming  of  strangers  and  as  there  is  so  much  uncertainty  as  to 
whom  the  Egyptians  were  and  whence  they  came  and  as  to 
which  were  Negroes  and  which  were  Egyptians  proper  in  those 
dim  and  distant  days,  it  is  just  as  well  to  believe  that  we  were 
and  are  all  related  though  we  cannot  tell  exactly  the  degree  of 
nur  cousinship. 

Alexandria  in  Egypt  contained  the  largest  and  most  remark- 
able library  of  the  ancient  world,  for  that  city  was  the  seat  of 
learning  and  culture.  This  library,  gathered  through  hundreds 
of  years  before  the  advent  of  Christ,  by  the  rulers  of  Egypt 
was  burnt  when  the  fleet  of  Julius  Caesar  caught  fire  in  the 
harbor.  If  any  books  escaped,  or  were  subsequently  replaced 
they  must  have  perished  when  the  whole  quarter  of  the  city 
was  burnt  by  Aurelian. 

While  the  destruction  of  the  library  was  a  tremendous  loss 
to  the  whole  human  family,  the  Negro  was  by  far  the  heaviest 
loser ;  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  now  disputed  points 
of  race  origin,  relationship,  and  achievement  might  have  been 
settled  by  the  facts  recorded  upon  the  parchments  and  scrolls 
with  which  the  shelves  of  the  Alexandrian  Library  were  filled. 

It  is  very  certain  that  the  Egyptians  and  other  peoples  of 
northern  Africa  were,  as  has  been  said,  far  ahead  of  the  rest 
of  the  continent,  but  nevertheless  it  is  also  certain  that  the 
neighboring  countries  of  Europe  obtained  their  first  instruction 
in  the  arts  and  sciences  and  received  their  first  ideas  of  a 
written  language  from  what  has  been  in  modern  times  called 


1 6  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


the  Dark  Continent,  but  which  was  in  olden  days  a  light  which 
lighted  the  world.  Civilization  moved  northward  into  Europe 
rather  than  southward  into  the  heart  of  Africa  for  the  reason 
that  travel  in  the  interior,  on  account  of  the  jungles,  deserts, 
mountains,  swamps  and  ravines,  was  unsafe  and  uncomfortable. 

The  most  ancient  rulers  of  Egypt  were  called  Pharaohs  and 
they  governed  the  country  for  hundreds  of  years.  A  Pharaoh 
was  ruling  when  Joseph  was  sold  by  his  brothers  into  Egypt  and 
another  Pharaoh  reigned  when  the  Jews,  who  had  been  held  in 
bondage  many  years,  were  led  by  Moses  out  of  the  country  over 
the  Red  Sea  into  the  Promised  Land  in  Asia.  The  Persians  con- 
quered the  country  about  520  B.C.;  after  them  it  was  ruled  by 
Alexander  the  Great ;  next  by  a  line  of  kings  called  Ptolmies ; 
then  by  Rome ;  next  by  the  Mohammedans  and  today  it  is 
largely  under  the  government  of  England.  Egypt  played  a 
wonderful  and  important  part  in  the  world's  history  for  thou- 
sands of  years.  It  was  to  this  country  that  the  child  Jesus  was 
carried  to  be  saved  from  wicked  King  Herod  who  would  have 
killed  him.  There  is  near  the  site  of  ancient  Heliopolis,  the 
City  of  the  Sun.  a  sycamore  tree  about  which  the  legend  runs 
that  it  once  sheltered  the  Holy  Family;  here,  also,  at  Heliop- 
olis, it  is  said  that  Moses  taught  and  Jeremiah  wrote. 

It  was  when  Alexandria  was  the  fountain  of  the  learning  of 
the  ancient  world  that  the  Christian  religion  took  root  in  north- 
ern Africa.  There  were  men  from  Africa  present  in  Jerusalem 
on  the  Day  of  Pentacost,  when  hundreds  testified  to  the  won- 
derful works  of  God,  each  in  his  own  tongue.  These  men  and 
others  first  took  the  Gospel  to  Africa,  and  it  flourished  there 
unhindered  for  nearly  three  centuries,  but  while  Diocletian  was 
Emperor  of  Rome,  Christians  suffered  great  persecution. 

In  the  Church  in  Africa,  as  elsewhere,  many  died  —  young 
girls  and  women  among  them  —  rather  than  betray  their  faith. 
"  Among  those  who  thus  perished  was  Leonidas,  the  father  of 
Origon,  Potimicaena,  who  was  put  to  death  by  being  slowly 
dipped -into  burning  pitch;  Felicitas,  a  beautiful  slave  girl,  who 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  17 


was  torn  to  pieces  by  wild  beasts ;  Perpetua,  a  young  woman 
of  high  birth,  and  many  others." 

When  Constantine  became  Emperor,  these  persecutions 
ceased,  but,  as  you  see,  African  Christians  had  their  share  in 
the  glory  of  martyrdom. 

You  have  all  heard  of  the  great  pyramids  of  Egypt  built  in 
a  time  so  far  distant  that  no  one  knows  just  how  old  they  are. 
( )ther  structures  of  interest  are  the  Sphynx,  the  catacombs 
and  the  labyrinth.  The  labyrinth  is  built  or  hewn  out  of 
marble,  is  partly  underground  and  is  said  to  have  comprised 
twelve  palaces  and  3,000  chambers. 

Abyssinia  is  another  African  country  of  great  antiquity. 
It  is  a  very  mountainous  country  and  its  climate  is  peculiar, 
for  though  so  near  the  equator  the  earth  never  becomes  warm, 
but  is  always  damp  and  chilly  while  the  nights  fall  suddenly 
and  are  very  cold.  This  is  because  the  country  is  so  high 
above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  Abyssinians  claim  that  their  country  is  the  Sheba  whose 
queen  journeyed  to  the  court  of  King  Solomon  to  behold  its 
glory  and  to  learn  of  the  wisdom  of  the  great  king.  It  is  said 
that  she  was  converted  to  the  Jewish  faith  and  that  her  people 
believed  in  the  true  God  long  befor  Christ  came,  and  it  is 
known  that  Christianity  was  established  in  Abyssinia  before 
350  A.  D. 

Carthage,  which  flourished  near  modern  Tunis,  was  one  of 
the  richest  and  most  important  states  of  the  ancient  world.  It 
was  founded  by  Phoenicians  and  at  first  these  paid  a  yearly 
tax  to  the  native  Africans  who  owned  the  soil,  but  just  as  soon 
as  the  colonists  grew  strong  enough  they  waged  war  against 
the  Africans  and  finally  conquered  them.  The  natives  were 
driven  back  into  the  interior  where  they  were  cruelly  treated, 
heavily  burdened  by  taxation  and  forced  to  till  the  soil  for  their 
conquerers. 

Meanwhile  the  settlers  were  marrying  the  native  women 
and  there  arose  a  race  known  as  Afro-Phoenicians  or  Liby- 
Phoenicians.   They  became  very  numerous  and  were  an  impor- 


1 8  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


i:ant  factor  in  the  country,  many  of  them  becoming  colonists, 
in  their  turn,  and  settling  in  other  countries.  Some  settled  in 
Spain  and  at  one  time  3f),000  of  the  Afro-Phoenicians  emi- 
grated- from  Carthage  and  settled  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa 
south  of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar. 

*-■  The  Carthagenians  were  a  seafaring  people  and  their  trad- 
ing vessels  went  to  northern  Europe,  western  Africa,  and,  it  is 
supposed,  as  far  as  the  Azores.  They  planted  colonies  in  many 
countries  and  are  said  to  have  worked  the  tin  mines  of  Corn- 
wall in  Wales.  The  Carthegenian  navy  was  for  long  the  most 
powerful  in  the  ancient  world  and  "  the  waters  of  every  sea 
were  white  with  her  sails." 

Finally,  a  great  rivalry  arose  between  Carthage  and  Rome 
and  after  a  time  these  two  countries  went  to  war.  For  the 
space  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  these  coun- 
tries were  enemies.  There  was  first  war,  then  peace  between 
them,  but  in  14(i  B.  C.  Rome  conquered  and  many  thousands 
of  the  Carthagenians  were  killed  by  the  sword  or  buried  under 
the  burning  ruins  of  their  homes ;  the  remainder  were  sold  into 
slavery,  the  Romans  razed  what  was  left  of  the  city  to  the 
ground,  plowed  up  the  earth  and  sowed  salt  in  the  furrows  as 
a  sign  of  utter  desolation.  Hannibal,  the  great  general,  was 
a  Carthagenian  who  did  his  part  in  his  country's  service.  He 
won  many,  great  victories  and  finally  killed  himself  rather 
than  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

All  the  pomp  and  pride  of  these  ancient  countries,  their 
wealth  and  power,  the  things  for  which  they  killed  themselves 
or  killed  each  other  have  melted  into  nothingness,  have  become 
"  as  a  tale  that  is  told."  Yet  we  learn  from  their  story  how 
important  a  part  Africa  played  in  ancient  times. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


"*9 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EXPLORATIONS  IN  AFRICA. 

'  I  '  HE  interior  of  Africa  has  always  abounded  in  those  things 
A  which  civilized  men  prize  and  the  earliest  explorers 
were  seeking  for  articles  of  value  to  commerce.  Beside 
these,  the  Egyptians  sent  out  many  hunters  for  the  elephants 
so  useful  in  their  wars  and  the  Romans  paid  good  prices  for 
lions  and  other  wild  beasts  for  their  arenas  and  circuses.  These 


RIONGA,  A   NATIVE  CHIEF,  RECEIVES   BAKER 

ancient  explorers  and  more  modern  ones  also  brought  wonder- 
ful tales  of  the  creatures  they  claimed  to  have  seen,  creatures 
which  never  existed  anywhere,  such  as  dragons,  griffins,  head- 
less men  and  so  forth.  Such  tales  did  not  serve  to  make  men 
anxious  to  enter  Africa. 

The  Arabs,  however,  as  missionaries  or  as  traders,  have, 
for  centuries,  been  familiar  with  the  interior  of  this  great  con- 
tinent     Arabian   missionaries   converted   many   tribes   to  the 


zo  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


Mohammedan  faith,  and  even  before  the  rise  of  Mohamme- 
danism, "  Negroes  shared  in  the  learning  and  'politics  of 
Arabia.''  Travelers  in  the  interior  of  Africa  have  often  been 
astonished  at  the  number  of  natives  who  could  read  and  write 
the  Arabic  language;  hundreds  of  them  know  many  passages 
of  the  Koran  (the  Mohammedan  Bible)  and  can  repeat  them 
from  memory  as  well  as  extracts  from  other  Arabic  writings. 

The  Arab  traders  early  penetrated  far  into  the  country  seek- 
ing for  the  articles  in  themselvs  so  valueless  to  Africa  but 
worth  so  much  money  in  other  countries.  They  also  hunted 
the  natives  whom  they  kidnapped  and  sold  into  slavery.  Self- 
ishness, cruelty  and  treachery  were  the  lessons  they  taught  and 
the  early  white  traders  and  later  ones,  too,  did  very  little  better. 
One  writer  says  of  the  latter  that  "a  white  man  to  the  natives 
of  Africa  stood  for  wrong  and  cruelty  alone.  The  very  word 
meant  separation  of  wives  and  husbands,  parents  and  children 
to  be  carried  to  a  fate  as  mysterious  as  it  proved  to  be  horrible. 
Hence  the  white  man's  greed  and  cruelty  was  a  bar  to  his 
curiosity  and  energy ;  his  love  of  knowledge  and  science  was 
defeated  by  his  love  of  sin  and  wrong,  and  the  civilized  world, 
instead  of  wondering  at  the  ignorance  and  barbarity  that  kept 
back  for  so  long  a  time,  all  efforts  to  know  and  to  help  should 
wonder  that  anyone  from  the  outside  world  should  have  been 
allowed  to  live  for  a  day  where  these  wronged,  outraged 
savages  ruled." 

But  with  all  that  Africa  has  suffered,  and,  in  some  places,  is 
still  suffering  at  the  hands  of  so-called  civilized  men,  there 
have  been  brave,  noble  men  and  women  who  have  devoted  the 
best  years  of  their  lives  to  Africa  and  some  have  finally  died  a 
martyr's  death  at  the  hands  of  those  whom  they  were  trying  to 
help. 

One  of  the  first  of  these  was  Mungo  Park,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land. In  ]  795,  when  he  was  only  twenty-four  years  old,  he 
went  to  West  Africa  to  try  to  find  the  source,  or  beginning  of 
the  River  Niger.  One  of  the  drawbacks  to  the  west  coast  is 
its  deadly  climate,  and  shortly  after  arriving  at  Kano  young 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  21 


Park  fell  ill  of  fever  and  remained  an  invalid  for  five  months. 
While  recovering,  he  learned  the  language  of  the  Mandingoes, 
a  native  tribe,  and  this  was  a  great  help  to  him. 

lie  finally  started  with  only  six  natives  on  his  journey.  Had 
he  been  older  and  wiser  he  would  have  taken  a  larger  company. 
At  one  time  they  were  captured  by  Moors  and  a  wild  boar  was 
turnd  loose  upon  them,  but  instead  of  attacking  Park  the  beast 
turned  upon  his  owners,  and  this  aroused  their  superstitious 
fears.  The  king  then  ordered  him  to  be  put  in  a  hut  where 
the  boar  was  tied  while  he  and  his  chief  officers  discussed 
whether  Park  should  lose  his  right  hand,  his  eyes  or  his  life. 
Hut  he  escaped  from  them,  and  after  nearly  two  years  of 
wandering  in  search  of  the  Niger's  source,  during  which  time 
he  suffered  many  hardships  and  made  many  narrow  escapes  he 
returned  to  Kano,  the  place  where  he  had  been  ill. 

At  one  time  during  his  journey  Mr.  Park  arrived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Sego  and  as  a  white  man  had  never  been  seen 
in  that  region  before,  the  natives  looked  upon  him  with  fear 
and  astonishment.  He  asked  to  see  the  king,  but  no  one  would 
take  him  across  the  river,  and  the  king  sent  word  that  he  would 
by  no  means  receive  the  strange  traveler  until  he  knew  what 
the  latter  wanted.  Park  was  tired,  hungry  and  discouraged 
and  was  preparing  to  spend  the  night  in  the  branches  of  a  tree 
when  a  native  woman  pitied  him.  She  invited  him  into  her 
hut,  and  with  the  hospitality  for  which  the  natives  are  noted, 
shared  with  him  her  food.  By  signs  she  made  him  understand 
that  he  might  occupy  the  sleeping  mat  and  as  she  and  her 
daughters  sat  spinning  they  sang  their  native  songs,  among 
them  the  following  which  was  impromptu  and  composed  in 
honor  of  the  stranger  : 
The  wind  roared  and  the  rain  fell. 
The  poor  white  man,  faint  and  weary,  came  and  sat  under  our 

tree. 
He  has  no  mother  to  bring  him  milk;  no  wife  to  grind  his  corn. 
Chorus. 

Let  us  pity  the  white  man ; 

No  mother  has  he  to  bring  him  milk; 

No  wife  tu  grind  his  corn. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


Speaking  of  this  incident  Park  says:  "  Trifling  as  this  recital 
may  appear  to  the  reader,  to  a  person  in  my  situation  the 
circumstance  was  affecting  in  the  highest  degree.  I  was 
oppressed  by  such  unexpected  kindness  and  sleep  fled  from  my 
eyes.  Another  writer  says :  "  The  name  of  the  woman  and 
the  alabaster  box  of  precious  ointment,  the  nameless  widow, 
who.  giving  only  two  mites,  had  given  more  than  all  the  rich, 
and  this  nameless  woman  of  Sego,  form  a  trio  of  feminine 
beauty  and  grandeur  of  which  the  sex  in  all  ages  may  be 
proud.''  ^    r  % 

Mungq  Park  went  from  Kano  back  to  England  and  as  every- 
one had  thought  him  dead  long  ago  his  return  caused  great 
rejoicing  throughout  the  country.  Eight  years  afterward  he 
went  again  to  Africa  on  the  same  errand  and  with  quite  a  com- 
pany, but  one  by  one  his  companions  sickened  and  died  and 
finally,  though  having  traveled  many  miles  and  endured  much 
suffering.  Park  himself  was  drowned  while  trying  to  escape 
from  tlie  natives  and  without  coming  in  sight  of  the  Xiger's 
source.  \         pi 

David  Livingstorfe  was  also  of  Scotland  and  was  born  about 
eight  years  after  Park  died.  His  parents  were  poor,  and  as 
he  was  compelled  to  work  in  the  day,  he  received  his  early 
education  at  a  night  school.  He  was  of  a  serious  turn  and 
while  quite  young  decided  to  give  his  life  to  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions. In  1840,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  went  to  South 
Africa  where  for  nine  years  he  preached  and  taught  at  various 
stations  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Town ;  he  also  sent  to  England 
during  this  time  much  information  of  value  to  geographers  and 
scientists. 

At  length  he  started  into  the  interior  on  a  journey  of  dis- 
covery, realizing,  as  we  all  finally  do,  that  by  a  true,  sincere 
and  unselfish  life  he  might  point  the  way  to  God  no  matter 
where  he  was  nor  what  his  occupation.  And  so.  for  years,  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  double  cause  of  religion  and  discovery. 

Sometimes  for  months  and  again  for  years  there  would  be  no 
word  from  him  and  upon  two  or  three  occasions   searching 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  23 


parties  were  sent  out  to  find  him.  He1  traveled  thousands  of 
miles  and  made  many  discoveries  and  though  he  sometimes 
met  hostile  tribes  who  would  engage  him  and  his  followers  in 
battle,  because  they  did  not  know  how  good  and  kind  he  was, 
wherever  they  had  the  chance  to  really  know  him  they  became 
his  true  friends.  His  native  servants  were  devoted  to  him  -and 
among  other  things  he  taught  them  English.  Chumah  and  Susi 
were  the  names  of  two  who  rendered  him  valuable  assistance. 
During  his  travels  he  went  onetime  from  Gape  Colony  up 
to  the  northwestern  part  of  what  is  now  Matebele  ;  another  time 
he  went  much  farther  north  and  discovered  Lake.  Nyassa ; 
with  Stanley  he  sailed  up  to  the  northern  end  of  -liakcTani- 
ganyika,  and  his  last  trip  was  made  to  Lake ?Barrgeolay; where 
he  had  been  once  before.     Here  he  fell  sick  and-died.  -'^. 

His  wife  had  died  in  Africa  about  ten  years  beforehand  die 
had  hoped  after  exploring  the  region  around  •  Dangeola  to 
return  to  England  and  spend  his  last  days  with 'his  children; 
but,  alas,  this  was  not  to  be.  Those- who  were- with" him  when 
he  died  embalmed  his  body  as  best  they' coukLand  at  last  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  it  to  Zanzibar.  Here  it  was  received  by  a 
government  vessel  and  carried  to -England,  and  Livingstone 
was  buried  with  the  honor  he  deserved  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

Samuel  White  Baker,  an  English  explorer  of  note,  had  trav- 
eled much  in  Asia  and  African  and  in  18G4  had  "discovered 
Albert  Nyanza  or  Lake  Victoria  Nyanza  had  previously  keen 
discovered  by  two  explorers  —  Speke  and  Grant.  In  18t>!h 
Baker  with  his  wife  and  a  large  company  which; included- sol- 
diers, sailors,  a  physician,  engineers,  carpenters  -and  ■other 
trained  men,  started  from  Egypt,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Khedive  or  king  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  honest  trade 
with  the  natives  instead  of  the  cheating  systern-and  also  to 
break  up  the  slave  trade  as  far  south  as  possible.-  His  plaii 
was  to  reach  the  interior  by  means  of  the5  Nile  and  its- branches 
and  he  took  along  several  vessels,  some  of 'these  were  in  pieces 
to  be  put  together  when  needed.         •    -'•"      •  -:    '   '-■■■  •'  -• 

You   must   remember  that  these   explorers  had   nothing  to 


24  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


guide  them  and  that  they  were  making  a  map  not  only  for 
themselves  but  for  the  rest  of  the  world.  They  never  knew  one 
day  through  what  sort  of  country  they  would  be  traveling  next 
nor  whether  the  natives  would  be  friends  or  enemies. 

On  this  trip,  after  sailing  for  over  a  month  through  waters 
sometimes  so  covered  with  vegetation  that  the  men  were  com- 
pelled to  swim  ahead  and  cut  a  canal  for  the  boats  with  their 
swords,  through  waters  filled -with  crocodiles  which  kept  the 
men  in  constant  fear,  through  waters  in  which  were  many  hip- 
potami  which  sometimes  upset  the  small  boats  and  broke  holes 
in  the  large  ones.  Baker  and  his  party  were  compelled  to  return 
to  the  Nile  proper  because  the  water  became  too  shallow  to 
float  the  boats.  But  he  and  his  companions  would  not  give  up 
and  after  resting  a  while,  set  out  once  more. 

On  the  way  to  Fatiko,  the  home  of  Abou  Saood  and  the  hot- 
bed of  slavery,  they  met  hostile  tribes  of  natives,  and  the  Arabs 
who  made  their  living  by  selling  slaves,  set  many  traps  for 
them.  After  much  hardship,  suffering  hunger  and  thirst, 
lack  of  clothing,  the  burning  of  their  camp  and  many  other 
losses,  they  succeeded  in  conquering  their  enemies  and  Baker 
and  his  party  had  the  happiness  of  knowing  that  their  trials  had 
not  been  in  vain.  The  slave  station  of  Abou  Saood  was  com- 
pletely broken  up  and  that  cruel,  wicked  man  left  for  Cairo 
saying  that  he  had  been  wrongfully  treated  and  would  enter  a 
complaint  against  Baker  at  the  court  of  the  Khedive.  How- 
ever, for  the  time  being,  at  least,  the  slave  trade  throughout 
the  entire  region  through  which  Baker  had  passed  and  down 
to  the  equator  no  longer  existed ;  the  natives  returned  to  their 
homes  and  began  once  more  to  till  the  soil. 

Henry  M.  Stanley  has  been  called  the  most  successful  ex- 
plorer of  modern  times.  He  made  three  separate  trips  into 
the  heart  of  Africa,  each  of  which  was  entirely  successful, 
though  at  the  cost  of  many  lives. 

His  first  trip,  made  in  1870,  was  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
Livingstone,  his  second  was  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  for- 
ward the  work  which  Livingstone  had  not  been  able  to  finish ; 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  25 


at  this  time  Stanley  explored  Lake  Victoria  and  proved  it  to 
be  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Nile.  His  last  trip  was  for  the 
relief  of  Emin  Pasha,  who  after  being  appointed  governor 
of  a  province  in  the  interior  had  been  surrounded  by  hostile 
natives. 

Me  published  to  the  world  many  interesting  and  wonderful 
facts  about  the  country  and  inhabitants  of  Africa.  Money,  at 
that  time  was  of  no  use  in  the  heart  of  Africa  and  food  and 
other  necessaries  were  exchanged  for  beads,  bells,  wire,  cloth 
and  such  other  things  as  the  natives  could  not  make.  More 
than  once  life  hung  on  a  string  of  beads  or  a  yard  of  cloth. 

If  you  have  imagined  that  all  of  the  native  Africans  resemble 
the  pictures  of  such  usually  placed  in  school  books  you  are 
greatly  mistaken,  for,  according  to  Stanley  there  is  as  much 
difference  in  color,  features  and  character  between  the  tribes 
of  Africa  as  between  the  various  nations  of  Europe.  Some 
African  tribes  arc  of  lighter  or  darker  brown,  some  are  black, 
some  resemble  what  are  called  mulatoes,  and  there  is  a  tribe 
living  on  Mt.  Gambaragara.  near  Victoria  Nyanza  members  of 
which  were  seen  by  both  Livingstone  and  Stanley  and  who  are 
as  fair  as  Europeans  with  brown  hair.  "  The  Wahumba  is  a 
line  well-formed  race,  the  mouth  exceedingly  well  cut,  deli- 
cately small ;  the  nose  that  of  the  Greeks,  limbs  long,  shapely 
and  clean  as  those  of  the  antelope.  Their  robes  of  calf  and 
goat  skins  hang  from  the  shoulders  and  fall  to  the  knees." 
"  The  Wadoe  is  a  warlike  intelligent  people  living  in  a  pictur- 
esque country.  On  account  of  their  superior  physique  and 
intelligence  they  are  eagerly  sought  for  as  slaves  by  the  cruel 
Arabs.*'  "  The  Wagogo,  a  sturdy  native  with  his  rich  com- 
plexion, his  lion  front,  menacing  aspect,  bullying  nature, 
haughty,  proud  and  quarrelsome,  is  a  mere  child  with  a  man 
who  will  study  his  nature  and  not  offend  his  vanity.  He 
believes  in  God  or  the  Sky  Spirit  and  his  prayers  are  generally 
directed  to  Him  when  parents  die."  In  the  course  of  his  jour- 
nevings  Stanley  saw  many  beautiful  native  women  and  many 
dignified  and  handsome  men. 


s6  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


King  Ruoma  was,  perhaps  one  of  the  most  positive  native 
characters  with  whom  this  explorer  came  in  contact.  Hearing 
that  Stanley  was  about  to  cross  his  territory  the  king  sent  the 
following  message :  "Ruoma  sends  salaams  to  the  white  man. 
He  does  not  want  the  white  man's  cloth,  beads  or  wire,  but 
the  white  man  must  not  pass  through  his  country.  Ruoma 
does  not  want  to  see  him  or  any  other  man  with  long  red  hair 
down  to  his  shoulders,  white  face  and  big  red  eyes.  Ruoma  is 
not  afraid  of  him,  but  if  the  white  man  will  come  near  his 
country,  Rouma  and  Mirambo  will  fight  him."  Stanley  did 
not  lead  his  company  across  Rouma's  territory. 

Ruling  over  Uganda,  the  country  next  to  Rouma,  was  the 
powerful  King  Mtesa,  one  of  the  finest  native  characters 
mentioned  by  explorers.  Mtesa  is  described  as  a  "  tall  and 
slender  man,  but  with  broad  powerful  shoulders.  His  eyes 
were  large,  his  face  intelligent  and  amiable  while  his  mouth  and 
nose  were  like  those  of  a  Persian  Arab.  As  soon  as  he  began 
to  speak,  Stanley  was  captivated  by  his  courteous,  amiable 
manner.  He  was  infinitely  superior  to  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar, 
and  impressed  one  as  a  colored  gentleman  who  had  learned  his 
manners  by  contact  with  cilivized,  cultured  men,  instead  of 
being,  as  he  was.  a  native  of  Central  Africa  who  had  never  seen 
but  three  white  men  before  in  his  life.  Stanley  was  astonished 
at  his  native  polish." 

Mtesa  had  been  converted  to  Mohammedanism  by  an  Arab 
but  soon  agreed  to  observe  the  Christian  as  well  as  the  Moslem 
Sabbath.  He  also  caused  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  Golden  Rule  to  be  written  on  a  board  that  he 
might  read  them  daily.  Under  his  government,  Uganda  was 
a  happy,  prosperous  country. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  several  other  explorers  have 
done  good  work  in  Africa ;  but  these  are  mentioned  that  you 
may  form  a  general  idea  as  to  what  has  been  accomplished 
along  this  line. 

It  is  said  that  more  than  seven  hundred  explorers  have  trav- 
eled in  Africa  and  of  that  number  fully  five  hundred  have 
found  there  their  last  resting  place.  Of  the  missionaries,  both 
men  and  women  who  have  died  in  Africa,  there  is  a  long  roll, 


A   NATIVE  YOUTH  OF   MODERN  AFRICA 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO        27 

CHAPTER  V. 

MODERN  AFRICA. 

IN  MODERN  times  Africa  has  been  little  more  than  a  big, 
rich  grabbag  for  the  great  powers  of  the  world.  By  might 
not  by  right  have  they  divided  her  territory  among  them, 
and  small  indeed  is  the  portion  to  which  the  natives  may  lay 
claim.  Thoughtful  people  agree  that  there  are  two  reasons  for 
this  state  of  affairs.  First,  the  lack  of  unity  or  oneness  among 
native  Africans,  which  is  the  most  important  reason,  and 
second,  inferior  knowledge  of  modern  warfare  and  lack  of 
modern  arms.  Says  one  English  writer,  "  No  single  separate 
African  race  or  tribe  has  yet  felt  anything  like  unity  with  the 
black  race  in  general ;  otherwise  Europe  and  Asia  could  not 
continue  to  govern  Africa."  As  it  is,  England,  France,  Ger- 
many, Italy,  Portugal,  Belgium  and  Turkey  claim  large  por- 
tions of  African  soil. 

Friends  of  Africa  have  often  been  discouraged  by  some  of 
the  barriers  to  progress  which  have  been  unnecessarily  placed 
in  the  way.  A  white  American  missionary  has  recently  writ- 
ten :  "I  wonder  that  the  Africans  do  not  shoot  with  poisoned 
arrows,  every  white  man  that  lands  on  their  coast,  for  he  has 
brought  them  rum,  and  is  still  bringing  it;  and  in  a  few  decades 
more,  if  the  rum  traffic  continues,  there  will  be  few  left  in 
Africa  to  be  saved.  The  vile  rum.  in  that  tropical  climate,  is 
depopulating  the  country  more  rapidly  than  famine,  pestilence 
and  war.  Africa,  with  the  simple  gospel  of  Jesus  is  saved,  but 
Africa  with  rum  is  eternally  lost." 

In  modern  times  there  have  been  a  few  of  the  native  king- 
doms which  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  world  by  their 
tribal  Unity  and  their  ability  to  resist  the  stealthy  advance  of 
civilized  nations.  The  Ashantis  first  came  under  European 
notice  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  King  Osai 
Tutu,  who  founded  the  nation,  brought  into  union  several 
neighboring  tribes,  by  means  of  warfare  or  by  tactful  manage- 
ment.   He  was  slain  in  1731.    The  Ashantis  kept  up  a  constant 


28  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


war  with  the  neighboring  Fantis,  and  when  the  latter  sought 
British  protection,  the  Ashantis  fought  against  them  both,  with 
varying  fortunes,  for  many  years. 

In  the  war  of  1896,  the  English  won  and  King  Prempeh 
surrendered  and  was  exiled.  "  Though  outwardly  submissive, 
the  chiefs  of  Kumasi,  the  principal  tribe,  were  far  from  recon- 
ciled to  British  rule,  and  in  1900  a  serious  rebellion  broke  out 
in  the  Kumasi,  Adansi,  and  Kokofu  tribes.  Rebellion  was 
crushed  and  Ashanti  formally  joined  to  the  British  dominions, 
and  given  a  separate  administration  under  control  of  the 
governor  of  the  Gold  Coast.  It  was  reported,  in  1905,  that 
the  Ashantis  were  becoming  reconciled  to  the  English  and  that 
the  maintenance  of  the  tribal  system,  and  the  support  given  to 
the  lawful  chiefs,  did  much  to  win  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  a  people  naturally  suspicious,  and  mindful  of  their  exiled 
king." 

Yorubaland  is  a  large  tract  in  the  hinterland  of  Lagos,  West 
Africa.  The  Yorubas  are  said  to  vary  in  color  from  jet  black 
to  quite  light,  and  in  features,  from  the  heavy, "thick  cast  of 
countenance  to  the  more  delicate  and  refined.  There  is  among 
them  a  tradition  that  their  forefathers  were  of  Oriental  origin, 
and  a  large  number  of  American  Xegroes  are  said  to  be  of 
Yoruba  stock.  The  nation  comprises  many  tribes  and  they  are 
both  city-dwelling  and  farming  people.  It  is  said  that  the 
houses  of  the  chiefs  often  contain  as  many  as  fifty  rooms, 
decorated  with  carvings  representing  symbolic  devices,  fabu- 
lous animals,  and  hunting  or  warlike  scenes.  They  have  an 
excellent  system  of  government,  the  power  being  in  the  hands 
of  a  Council  of  Elders,  presided  over  by  a  chief.  The  chief 
must  always  be  taken  from  members  of  one  or  two  families 
and  owes  his  position  to  a  combination  of  the  principles  of 
heredity  and  election.  Yoruba  is  now  divided  into  semi- 
independent  states,  placed  under  British  protection  by  the 
treaty  of  1893.  The  country  extends  from  Benin  on  the  east 
to  Dahomey  on  the  west,  and  contains  several  large  cities,  some 
with  a  population  of  40,000. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  29 


In  1821,  Adjai,  a  boy  of  about  eleven  years,  was  captured  in 
Yorubaland  and  sold  into  slavery.  The  next  year,  he  was 
rescued  by  a  British  ship  and  landed  at  Sierra  Leone.  The 
missionaries  cared  for  and  educated  him  and  in  December, 
1825,  he  was  baptised  and  given  the  name,  Samuel  Adjai 
Crowther.  He  became  a  teacher  at  Furah  Bay  and  afterwards 
an  energetic  missionary  in  the  Niger  country.  In  18-42,  he 
went  to  England  and  entered  the  Missionary  College,  and  in 
June,  1843,  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Blomfield.  Returning  to 
Africa,  he  went  first  to  Yorubaland  and  afterwards  to  Aboo- 
kuta  where  he  labored  earnestly.  At  the  latter  place,  he  trans- 
lated the  Bible  and  the  Prayer  Book  into  Yoruba  and  other 
dialects  and  also  prepared  school  books  for  the  people.  He 
showed  the  natives  how  to  improve  their  way  of  farming  and 
how  to  trade  their  cotton  for  other  things.  He  went  on  several 
expeditions  up  the  Niger  and  afterwards  went  to  England, 
where  on  St.  Peter's  Day,  1 864,  he  was  consecrated  first 
Bishop  of  the  Niger.  Bishop  Crowther,  upon  reaching  Africa 
again,  established  several  missions  and  turned  many  to  Chris- 
tianity. He  died  of  paralysis  on  December  31,  1891,  having 
for  many  years  displayed  as  a  missionary,  untiring  industry, 
great  practical  wisdom,  and  deep  piety. 

Benin  was  another  powerful  native  kingdom.  It  was  first 
visited  by  the  English  in  1553  and  for  many  years  carried  on  a 
trade  in  ivory,  palm  oil,  pepper,  etc.  The  Beni  are  said  to  be 
a  pure  Negro  tribe,  speaking  a  distinct  language  and  having  a 
well-organized  government.  In  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was 
known  to  Europeans  as  Great  Benin.  The  King  of  Benin 
was  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of  the  priests,  who  were  the  real 
rulers.  The  people  are  skilled  in  weaving  cloth,  ivory  carving 
and  working  in  brass,  and  much  of  the  work  of  the  native 
artists  is  to  be  seen. 

In  1897  the  English  consul  general  sent  to  ask  for  an 
audience  with  the  king.  The  latter  requested  the  English  to 
remain  away  until  after  the  annual  "  customs,"  but  in  spite  of 
this  request,  the  consul,  with  eight  others  started  for  Benin  and 


30  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


were  massacred  on  the  way,  only  two  escaping.  A  large  Eng- 
lish force  was  sent  against  Benin  and  after  a  long,  hard  fight 
the  city  was  conquered  and  partly  burned.  The  king  and  chiefs 
were  tried,  the  king  deported  to  Calabar  and  the  chiefs  exe- 
cuted. The  whole  country  is  now  governed  by  a  Council  of 
Chiefs,  under  supervision  of  a  British  resident. 

The  kingdom  of  Dahomey,  like  those  of  Benin  and  Ashanti 
was  a  purely  Xegro  and  pagan  state.  King  Gezo,  its  most 
famous  ruler,  reigned  forty  years  and  under  him  the  country 
was  exceedingly  prosperous.  He  reorganized  the  women 
warriors,  or  Amazons,  for  which  Dahomey  is  famous.  The 
strongest  and  best  looking  women  were  drafted  into  the 
Amazon  regiments  and  the}-  were  the  pride  of  Dahomy.  Each 
of  these  regiments  had  its  own  peculiar  uniform  and  badges 
and  the  Amazons  took  the  post  of  honor  and  danger  in  all 
battles. 

"  Sir  R.  F.  Burton,  who  saw  the  arm)'  marching  out  of  Kano 
on  an  expedition  in  1862,  computed  the  whole  force  of  female 
troops  at  twenty-five  hundred,  of  whom  one-third  were 
unarmed  or  only  Halt  armed.  Weapons  were  blunderbusses, 
flint  muskets  and  bows  and  arrows  and  the  system  of  warfare 
was  t  i  surprise  the  enemy."  "  The  Amazons  were  carefully 
tia'ned  and  the  king  was  in  the  habit  of  holding  "autumn 
maneuvers  "  for  the  benefit  of  foreigners.  Many  Europeans 
have  witnessed  a  mimic  assault,  and  agree  in  ascribing  a 
marvelous  power  of  endurance  to  the  women.  Lines  of  thorny 
acacia  were  piled  up  one  behind  the  other  to  represent 
defences,  and  at  a  given  signal  the  Amazons,  barefooted  and 
without  any  special  protection,  charged  and  disappeared  from 
sight.  Presently,  they  emerged  within  the  lines,  torn  and  bleed- 
ing, but  apparently  insensible  to  pain,  and  the  parade  closed 
with  a  march  past,  each  warrior  leading  a  pretended  captive." 

The  independent  existence  of  Dahomey  ended  with  the  sur- 
render of  Bohanzi,  tbe  last  native  king  and  the  kingdom  is  now 
a  French  colony. 

The  Basutos  of  South  Africa  were  able  for  a  great  while  to 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  31 


maintain  their  independence  against  the  English  and  the  Boers 
through  the  patriotism  and  intelligence  of  Mosesh,  their  great 
leader  and  king.  When  he  was  forced  to  make  a  choice  of 
allies,  he  had  the  insight  and  intelligence  to  choose  the  English 
and  in  the  protectorate  of  Basutoland  the  natives  are  sturdy 
and  prosperous.  Moshesh  died  in  1869,  but  his  people  still 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  tact  and  skill.  "As  a  result  of  the  great 
work  of  Moshesh,  Basutoland  is  today  almost  entirely  self- 
governing,  with  nearly  300,000  inhabitants,  with  annual 
exports  of  grain,  cattle  and  wool  amounting  to  $700,000  a 
year."  It  is  exceedingly  encouraging  to  feel  that  when  "  the 
time"  comes,  as  come  it  will,  that  the  descendants  of  all  these 
brave  peoples  shall  again  have  opportunity  for  self-govern- 
ment they  will  be  able  to  add  to  their  natural  capacity  that 
which  they  have  learned  from  contact  with  modern  civilization. 

The  P.arbary  States,  on  whose  soil  Carthage  once  stood, 
play,  in  these  days,  an  unimportant  part  in  the  world  and  the 
several  states  are  under  the  government  of  different  nations. 
The  native  ruler  of  Egypt  is  called  the  Khedive,  but  at  present 
the  government  is  practically  in  the  hands  of  Great  Britain. 
Travel  in  Eastern  lands  has  become  so  rapid  and  comfortable 
that  a  trip  to  Egypt  is  now  taken  by  many  people  as  a  sort  of 
summer  outing,  and  every  year  thousands  of  tourists  gaze 
in  wonder  and  awe  at  the  Pyramids,  the  Sphynx,  the  Cata- 
combs and  the  River  Nile. 

The  Kingdom  of  Abyssinia  was,  for  many  years  wisely  gov- 
erned by  King  Menelik,  who  called  himself,  among  other 
things,  the  King  of  Kings  and  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah." 
Because  the  King  had  been  in  ill  health  for  some  time.  Prince 
Lidj  leassu  was,  in  May,  1909,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  pro- 
claimed heir  to  the  Abyssinian  throne,  and  Ras  Ilessama  was 
appointed  to  act  as  guardian  of  the  little  heir  and  to  govern  in 
his  stead.  In  May,  1911,  Prince  Lidj  Jeassu  was  proclaimed 
Emperor. 

The  inhabitants  are  justly  proud  of  their  centuries-old  his- 
tory and  prefer  to  be  known  by  their  ancient  name  of  Ethio- 


32  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


pians.  As  a  whole  they  are  an  extremely  intelligent  people, 
grave  of  countenance,  elaborately  courteous  and  it  is  said  that 
with  training  and  experience  they  will  be  fully  "  capable  of 
meeting  the  competition  of  the  Western  world."  Their  dress 
is  the  toga  such  as  was  worn  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
Menelik  is  described  as  "  tall  and  straight,  with  a  face  full  of 
intelligence  and  the  manners  of  a  gentleman  as  well  as  a  king." 
As  a  part  of  their  literature,  handed  down  for  centuries,  the 
Abyssians  prize  extracts  from  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  Gheze 
language,  the  Sabbatical  laws,  commandments  given  to  Moses 
by  God  and  a  translation  of  Josephus. 

It  is  said  that  on  the  plains  and  lower  lands  the  soil  of  Abys- 
sinia is  very  fertile  and  produces  sometimes  three  crops  per 
year ;  nearly  every  grain  that  will  grow  anywhere,  can  be 
grown  in  Abyssinia.  The  inhabitants  also  engage  in  raising 
sheep  and  goats  and  a  certain  amount  of  commerce  is  carried 
on.  "  By  methods  as  old  as  Moses,  gold  to  the  average  amount 
of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  is  annually  produced." 

Recently  a  commission  was  appointed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  visit  Abyssinia  and  to  endeavor  to  establish 
friendly  relations  between  the  two  countries.  The  commis- 
sioners were  received  with  great  pomp  and  assured  of  the 
interest  and  friendship  of  Menelik.  Modern  Abyssinia  is  said 
to  be  one  of  the  few  remaining  lands  of  romance  and  adventure. 

You  have  already  heard  of  the  Congo  Free  or  Independent 
State.  It  was  so  called  because  in  1885,  representatives  from 
fourteen  countries,  the  United  States  included,  met  and  agreed 
that  in  that  part  of  Africa,  at  least,  trade  should  be  free  to  all, 
the  navigation  of  the  Congo  river  should  be  free  and  the  natives 
should  not  be  oppressed,  but  encouraged  to  make  the  most  of 
themselves.  King  Leopold  of  r>elgium  was  one  of  those  who 
consented  to  this  and  he  succeded  in  having  himself  appointed 
a  kind  of  guardian  to  see  that  the  agreement  was  carried  out; 
but  he  was  a  wicked,  cruel  king,  sly  and  crafty  and  by  degrees 
he  obtained  absolute  power  over  every  soul  in  the  Congo.  He 
claimed  that  the  Con^oland  and  evervthin£  in  its  was  his  and 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  33 


that  the  natives  were  simply  his  tenants  and,  strange  to  say, 
the  thirteen  other  countries  allowed  him  to  do  so. 

The  Congo  is  a  vast  region  and  has  been  described  as  being 
as  large  as  the  whole  of  Europe,  omitting  Spain  and  Russia. 
Leopold  placed  over  every  village  in  the  Congo,  men  as  heart- 
less and  cruel  as  himself,  and  if  the  natives  of  a  village  failed 
to  bring  out  of  the  forest  as  much  ivory  and  rubber  as  the 
overseers  thought  they  should,  these  wicked  men  would  send 
after  them  cannibal  soldiers  who  would  burn  the  huts  and  kill 
and  eat  the  natives.  The  terrible  things  that  were  reported 
from  the  Congo,  horrified  the  civilized  world,  and  more  than 
once  Leopold  pretended  to  stop  them,  but  recently  accounts  of 
awful  conditions  have  been  published.  It  is  said  that  in  seven 
years,  driven  by  their  cruel  taskmasters,  the  natives  gathered 
fifty-five  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  rubber  for  which  the}' 
received  barely  enough  to  keep  them  alive. 

Dr.  W.  II.  vSheppard,  himself  a  colored  man  and  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  took  up  missionary  work  in  Africa  in  1893. 
In  1!>11  he  returned  to  America  from  the  Congo  region  and 
tells  many  interesting  things  of  the  tribes  with  which  he  came 
into  contact.  Among  them  there  was  a  tribe  which  he  was  the 
first  civilized  man  to  visit.  The  king  of  this  tribe  had  heard  of 
foreigners  and  their  cruelties  to  the  natives,  and  as  he  thought 
they  were  all  alike,  he  issued  an  edict  that  no  foreigner  should 
enter  his  kingdom.  But  Dr.  Sheppard  had  won  the  love  of 
the  tribes  around  Stanley  Pool,  and  accompanied  by  some  of 
them,  he  finally  made  his  way  into  the  forbidden  land.  lie 
found  the  natives  weaving  their  own  cloth,  making  their  own 
farming  and  domestic  implements,  and  living  very  contentedly. 
He  also  came  into  contact  with  a  tribe  of  cannibals,  whose  lives 
were,  as  a  matter  of  course,  on  a  much  lower  plane.  He 
preached  to  them  the  Gospel,  and  after  many  years  has  the 
happiness  to  know  that  he  and  his  helpers  have  been  the  means 
of  bringing  many  to  Christianity  and  civilization. 

There  are  still  in  Central  Africa,  regions  which  are  unknown 
to  the  civilized  world,  but  in  some  places  of  which  until  recently 


34  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


little  has  been  heard,  the  natives  have  reached  a  high  state  of 
development.  As  you  know,  the  Arabs  who  believe  in  the 
Mohammedan  religion  have  for  centuries  been  traveling 
through  Africa,  and  in  many  places  have  erected  villages  for 
permanent  homes  and  intermarried  with  the  natives.  This  is 
true  of  Nigeria  where  the  natives  show  their  contact  with  the 
Arabs  in  many  ways.  The  two  most  important  tribes  of  this 
region  are  the  Fallani  and  the  Hausas,  both  of  which  are  highly 
intelligent  and  progressive.  Kano,  the  chief  city  of  this  local- 
ity, has  been  called  the  Chicago  of  West  Africa  and  is  a  busy 
city  with  markets  crowdeded  with  buyers  and  merchants  selling 
vegetables,  fruits,  fowl,  sheep,  goats  and  many  other  things, 
while  its  shops  are  tilled  with  native  and  foreign  products. 
The  people  engage  in  tilling  the  soil,  tending  herds,  weaving, 
dyeing,  and  manufacturing  pottery,  native  cloth,  farming  tools 
and  simple  arms  such  as  daggers,  spears,  etc. 

Uganda,  where  good  King  Mtesa  reigned  in  Stanley's  time, 
is  now  a  British  protectorate;  but  there  is  still  a  native  king. 
it  is  said  that  one  hundred  thousand  of  the  natives  are  Chris- 
tians and  twice  as  many  of  them  can  read  and  write.  Beside 
the  king  there  is  a  court  and  a  parliament,  nobles,  ministers 
and  a  code  of  laws.  The  people  are  industrious,  cultured  and 
peaceable.  "  The  white  man  cannot  live  here  long  at  a  time, 
for  in  his  flesh  every  cut  or  scratch  festers,  small  wounds 
become  running  sores  and  malaria  turns  to  the  fatal  "  black- 
water  fever." 

South  Africa  is  rich  in  gold  and  diamonds  and  for  many 
years  was  governed  by  people  called  Boers,  who  are  of  Dutch 
descent.  Recently  the  Boers  and  England  went  to  war  and 
England  conquered  the  country  and  added  it  to  her  other 
possessions.  It  was  to  this  country  that  Livingstone,  the  ex- 
plorer, went,  taught  and  preached  to  the  people  and  converted 
many  to  Christianity.  But  the  Boers  were  not  kind  to  the 
natives  and  oppressed  them  in  many  ways. 

Spreading  all  over  South  Africa  is  a  great  tribe  of  natives 
called  Kaffirs  and  of  these  the  Zulus  are  said  to  be  the  best  type. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  35 


They  are  noted  for  their  hospitality  and  though  partly  nomadic, 
they  are  lovers  of  home  and  children.  Those  Kaffirs  who  have 
not  been  tainted  by  the  vices  of  the  Boers  are  described  as  the 
"  most  intellectual  of  all  savage  races,  with  lofty,  thoughtful 
foreheads."  In  complexion  they  are  dark  with  a  tinge  of  red, 
the  skin  is  thin  and  fine  grained  and  the  hair  crisp  and  curly. 
They  are  very  proud  of  their  appearance  and  if  asked  what 
complexion  they  prefer  will  say,  "  black  like  mine,  with  a  little 
red."  The  blacker  a  person  is  the  more  beautiful  the  Kaffirs 
consider  him  and  though  Albinos  are  sometimes  found  among 
them  they  are  pitied  rather  than  admired.  In  recent  years 
several  Negro  missionaries  have  gone  to  South  Africa  as  well 
as  to  other  sections  and  the  natives  are  joining  the  churches, 
educating  their  children  and  learning  many  of  the  arts  of 
civilization. 

Of  the  West  Coast  of  Africa  a  writer  has  recently  said  that 
"  to  partition  finally  among  the  powers  this  strip  of  death  and 
disease,  of  unaccountable  wealth,  of  unnamed  horrors  and 
cruelties,  has  taken  many  hundreds  of  years,  has  brought  to  the 
black  man  every  misery  that  can  be  inflicted  upon  a  human 
being  and  to  thousands  of  white  men,  death  and  degradation 
or  great  wealth."  It  was  from  this  part  of  Africa  that  the 
majority  of  slaves  were  brought  to  America. 

Sierra  Leone  was  founded  on  the  West  Coast  by  English 
philanthropists  as  a  home  for  freedmen,  and  later  American 
friends  of  humanity  established  a  colony  adjoining  Sierra 
Leone  for  the  same  purpose,  and  this  colony  was  finally  called 
the  Republic  of  Liberia. 

The  native  tribes  which  live  in  Sierra  Leone  and  Liberia 
and  in  that  part  of  the  adjoining  country  which  reaches  toward 
central  Africa  and  which  is  called  the  hinterland,  are  a  very 
interesting  people.  The  most  progressive  of  them  are  the  Man- 
dingoes  (whose  language  Mungo  Park  learned)  and  the  Vai.  Of 
these  the  men  are,  as  a  rule,  stalwart  and  handsome  and  many 
of  the  women  are  beautiful.  Other  tribes  are  the  Gora,  the 
Susu,  and  the  Kru,  to  which  belong  the  Grebe,  the  Dc,  the  Basa 


36  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


and  the  Gibi.  The  Krumen  are  the  workingmen  of  the  West 
Coast.  They  are  heavily  built  and  muscular  and  neither  the 
women  nor  the  men  are  especially  attractive  in  appearance ;  but 
they  are  very  industrious  and  much  of  coast  traffic  depends  on 
their  labor. 

The  natives  of  this  section  manufacture  a  kind  of  pottery 
which  is  very  artistic  and  not  unlike  that  made  by  the  Indians 
in  this  country.  They  also  weave  a  cloth  which  is  called 
"  country  cloth,"  and  rude  musical  instruments,  swords, 
wooden  plates,  drums  and  similar  articles  are  made. 

Throughout  Africa  there  exist  secret  societies  known  by 
different  names  in  different  places.  The  societies  for  men  and 
women  are  separate  and  distinct  and  they  are  not  allowed  to 
hold  sessions  at  the  same  time.  In  the  vicinity  of  Sierra 
Leone  the  women's  society  is  called  the  Bandu  and  the  men's, 
the  Poro.  When  the  older  women  of  the  tribe  decide  to  hold 
a  meeting,  a  space  is  cleared  in  the  forest  or  bush  and  thus  the 
session  has  been  named  the  Bandu  Bush.  The  chief  officers 
are  called  "  dibbles,"  "  boogies,"  or  "  devils,"  and  they  dress 
in  a  very  fantastic  manner.  Over  the  head  and  face  is  worn 
a  hideous  mask  from  which  hangs  a  covering  of  palm  fiber  so 
adjusted  as  to  completely  hide  the  figure  and  disguise  the  indi- 
vidual. They  pretend  to  be  supernatural  and  only  the  highest 
officials  know  who  they  really  are. 

Into  the  Bush  the  girls  from  about  twelve  to  sixteen  are 
taken  to  be  initiated.  The  girls  who  do  not  go  are  looked  upon 
with  contempt  and  are  called  "  silly "  and  "  idiots."  The 
initiates  remain  in  the  Bush  for  months  and  the  women  teach 
them  many  useful  things ;  among  others,  to  be  obedient  and 
respectful  to  their  elders  and  to  be  good  wives  and  mothers. 
After  they  have  been  sufficiently  instructed,  they  are  "medicine 
washed  "  and  a  public  feast  takes  place  in  their  honor,  some- 
thing like  a  debut  party  in  civilized  countries.  When  the  boys 
go  into  the  Poro  bush  they  are  told  the  laws  and  legends  of 
their  tribe  and  commanded  to  respect  them,  they  are  taught  to 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  37 


hunt  and  fish  and  are  also  made  to  understand  their  duties  and 
responsibilities  as  future  husbands  and  fathers. 

Of  the  natives  of  western  Africa  a  missionary  has  said: 
"  Whatever  other  estimate  we  may  form  of  the  African,  we 
may  not  doubt  his  love  for  his  mother.  Her  name,  whether 
she  be  dead  or  alive,  is  always  on  his  lips  and  in  his  heart.  She 
is  the  first  thing  he  thinks  of  when  awakening  from  his  slum- 
bers and  the  last  thing  he  remembers  when  he  closes  his  eyes 
in  sleep;  to  her  he  confides  secrets  which  he  would  reveal  to  no 
other  human  being  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  He  cares  for  no 
one  else  in  time  of  sickness,  she  alone  must  prepare  his  food, 
administer  his  medicine,  perform  his  ablutions  and  spread  his 
mat  for  him.  He  Hies  to  her  in  the  hour  of  his  distress,  for 
he  well  knows  if  all  the  rest  of  the  world  turn  against  him,  she 
will  be  steadfast  in  her  love,  whether  he  be  right  or  wrong." 
1  low  wonderful  must  be  the  women  who  can  inspire  and  keep 
such  deep  and  constant  love  and  devotion  in  the  hearts  of  their 
children ! 

All  lovers  of  humanity  earnestly  desire  the  civilization  and 
redemption  of  the  entire  continent  of  Africa,  and  many  plans 
to  that  end  have  been  suggested.  Speaking  of  these,  Didwho 
Twe,  a  native  African,  and  a  man  of  great  culture  and  discern- 
ment, has  said :  "  A  new  form  of  Christianity  for  the  African 
race  will  develop  from  the  present  commercialism.  The  initia- 
tive of  this  great  change  will  come  from  men  of  pure  African 
blood  —  Africans  in  appearance,  Africans  in  body,  Africans  in 
spirit,  Africans  in  pride,  Africans  in  thought." 


38 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  VI. 


SIERRA  LEONE. 


THE  first  historical  mention  of  Sierra  Leone  was  by  Hanno 
of  Carthage,  who  is  said  to  have  entered  its  harbor  and 
to  have  hurriedly  left,  because  of  "the  fires  in  the  for- 
ests, the  beating  of  drums  and  the  strange  cries  that  issued 
other  of  the  approach  of  possible  enemies,  are  used  in  some 


NATIVE  KING  AND  COUNCIL,  HINTERLAND,  SIERRA  LEONE. 

from  the  bushes."  These  signs  by  which  the  tribes  warn  each 
parts  today  and  have  often  struck  terror  to  modern  travelers. 
The  Portuguese  claim  to  have  traded  with  the  natives 
around  Sierra  Leone  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century  and  English  trade  began  a  century  later.  Trading 
posts  or  "factories"  were  established  by  these  nations  on 
ground  leased  from  the  natives,  but  at  first  they  were  used  for 
a  fair  exchange  of  the  valuable  products  of  the  country.  It 
was  not  until  the  colonization  of  America  began  that  the  kid- 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  39 


napping  of  the  natives  themselves  was  thought  of.  For  ahout 
two  hundred  years  the  great  nations  of  the  world  engaged  in 
one  form  or  another  of  the  slave  trade,  but  toward  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  horror  of  the  traffic  began  to  force 
itself  upon  the  attention  of  friends  of  humanity  everywhere. 

In  1765,  Jonathan  Strong,  a  slave  who  had  been  brought  to 
England,  fell  sick  and  was  deserted  by  his  master.  He  man- 
aged to  recover  and  when  his  master  found  this  out  he  planned 
to  have  him  kidnapped  and  sent  back  to  the  West  Indies.  But 
the  great  Granville  Sharpe  took  an  interest  in  the  case,  in- 
terceded for  Strong  and  finally  succeeded  in  sending  him  out 
of  his  master's  reach.  Seven  years  afterward,  Sharpe  took  up 
the  case  of  Janes  Somerset  and  plead  for  him  before  the  High 
Court  at  Westminster. 

The  case  aroused  wide-spread  interest  and  the  judges  finally 
decided  that  Somerset  could  not  be  held,  and  that  from  that 
time  forward  every  slave  who  set  foot  on  English  soil  was 
free.  There  were  a  nu  r-ber  of  slaves  in  London  at  the  time 
and  these  either  left  their  masters  or  were  driven  away.  The 
condition  of  these  people,  without  money,  food  or  shelter,  be- 
came very  pitiable.  And  meanwhile  American  Negroes,  who 
had  found  shelter  with  the  British  army,  and  other  Negroes 
from  the  West  Indies  joined  their  brethren  in  London,  which 
added  to  the  distress  of  the  situation.  Granville  Sharpe, 
William  Wilberforce,  Dr.  Smeathman,  Henry  Thornton.  Jo- 
seph Hardcastle,  Thomas. Clarkson  and  other  good  men  joined 
together  to  assist  these  freedmen.  After  a  long  discussion,  it 
was  thought  best  to  send  them  to  Africa  where  they  might  not 
only  become  independent,  but  might  help  to  Christianize  the 
natives  and  break  up  the  slave  trade. 

The  English  government  was  persuaded  to  purchase  fro  n 
Naimbanna,  King  of  Sierra  Leone,  about  twenty  square  miles 
of  land  and  the  first  colony  reached  Africa  on  the  9th  of  May. 
1787.  Several  of  the  colonists  had  died  on  the  voyage,  and  of 
the  T80  persons  who  embarked  only  6-i  were  living  in  1791. 
But  the  English  friends  of  the  colony  were  not  discouraged ; 


40  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


they  formed  a  company  which  was  first  called  St.  George's 
Bay,  and  afterward,  the  Sierra  Leone  Company.  A  large 
sum  of  money  was  subscribed  and  the  company  sent  out  more 
colonists,  among  them  a  number  of  English  soldiers  who  had 
been  granted  land  as  a  reward  for  services.  Several  hundred 
Maroons  living  in  Nova  Scotia  sent  a  delegate  to  England  to 
ask  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  join  the  new  colony  and 
their  request  was  granted.  Some  hundreds  of  Maroons  from 
the  West  Indies  also  joined  the  colony,  but  the  deadly  climate 
caused  many  to  die  of  fever  and  destroyed  the  energy  of  the 
survivors.  The  people  became  entirely  discouraged,  and  "the 
whole  community  smouldered  down  into  chronic  mutiny."  At 
this  crisis,  Zachary  Macauley,  father  of  the  famous  English 
historian,  was  sent  as  general  manager  of  the  colony.  lie 
acted  as  governor,  secretary,  paymaster,  envoy  to  the  natives 
and  clergyman,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  peculiarly  adapted 
to  the  work.  Things  were  moving  smoothly,  under  Mr.  Ma- 
cauley's  management,  when,  in  1794,  eight  French  ships  filled 
with  sansculottes  came  into  the  harbor.  The  lawless  French 
men  entered  the  town  and  conducted  themselves  in  such  an 
outrageous  manner  that  the  governor  asked  to  be  given  an  au- 
dience with  the  comrander  of  the  vessel.  Macauley  says: 
*'As  I  passed  along  the  wharf  the  scene  was  curious  enough. 
The  Frenchmen  who  had  came  ashore  in  filth  and  rags,  were 
now  many  of  them  dressed  out  with  women's  gowns  and  petti- 
coats. Others  had  quantities  of  cloth  wrapped  about  their 
bodies  or  perhaps  six  or  seven  suits  of  clothes  upon  them  at  a 
time.  The  scene  which  presented  itself  on  my  getting  on  board 
the  flag-ship  was  still  more  singular.  The  quarter-deck  was 
crowded  by  a  set  of  ragamuffins  whose  appearance  beggared 
every  previous  description,  and  among  whom  I  sought  in  vain 
for  some  one  who  looked  like  a  gentleman." 

About  the  middle  of  October  the  French  left  Freetown,  hav- 
ing remained  about  a  month.  "They  never  revisited  the  place ; 
indeed,  they  had  left  it  in  such  a  condition  that  it  was  not 
worth  their  while  to  return.     Ten  houses  had  been  carefully 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  41 


burned  to  the  ground  and  the  livestock  killed.  Except  the 
clothes  on  their  backs  and  a  little  flour,  the  Europeans  had 
lost  everything  they  had  in  the  world.  *  *  *"  "In  the  of- 
fice, every  desk  and  every  shelf  and  every  drawer,  together 
with  the  printing  and  copying  presses,  had  been  completely 
demolished  in  the  search  for  money.  The  floors  were  strewn 
with  types,  and  papers  and  leaves  of  books,  and  I  had  the 
mortification  to  see  a  great  part  of  my  own  labor  and  of  the 
labor  of  others  for  several  years,  totally  destroyed.  At  the 
other  end  of  the  house  1  found  telescopes,  hydrometers,  ba- 
rometers, thermometers  and  other  articles  lying  about  in  frag- 
ments. In  the  town  library  the  volumes  were  tossed  about  and 
defaced  with  the  utmost  wantonness,  and  if  they  happened  to 
bear  the  least  resemblance  to  Ihbles  the)"  were  torn  in  pieces 
and  trampled  011.  In  the  collection  of  natural  curiosities, 
plants,  seeds,  dried  birds,  insects  and  drawings  were  scattered 
about  in  great  confusion.  The  destruction  of  livestock  was 
immense.  In  my  own  yard  alone,  the)-  killed  fourteen  dozen 
fowls,  and  there  were  not  less  than  twelve  hundred  hogs  shot 
in  the  town.  It  was  unsafe  to  walk  in  the  streets  of  Free- 
town during  the  fortv-eight  hours  that  followed  its  capture 
because  the  French  crews  were  firing  at  the  pigs  of  the  poor 
freedmen  over  whom  they  had  gained  such  a  questionable  vic- 
tory." lint  as  has  been  said,  the  French  finally  left  Sierra 
Leone,  and  left  a  very  disheartened  set  of  colonists  behind 
then.  However,  Mr.  Macauley  rallied  them  as  best  he  could 
and  when  he  left  the  colony  in  1?!)!),  because  his  health  had 
been  broken  by  the  fever,  things  were  moving  on  fairly  well ; 
but  the  year  1800  found  the  Company  with  very  little  money 
left  and  the  colony  in  a  very  discouraging  condition. 

The  natives,  who  had  for  years  been  able  to  obtain  as  much 
rum  and  gunpowder  as  they  wanted  at  the  nearest  baccaroon, 
did  not  appreciate  the  colony  and  gave  great  annoyance.  King 
Naimbanna,  however,  recognized  the  superior  progress  of  the 
Europeans  and  believed  it  to  be  due  to  their  religion,  but  he 
was  very  much  puzzled   when   lie   found  that  there  was  more 


42  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


than  one  European  religion.  After  much  thought  he  decided 
that  in  order  to  secure  the  greatest  benefit  to  his  tribe  it  would 
be  a  good  plan  to  send  one  son  to  Turkey  with  orders  to  be- 
come a  Mohammedan ;  another  to  England  to  be  a  Protestant 
and  a  third  to  Portugal  to  become  a  Roman  Catholic.  This 
he  did,  but  he  shortly  afterward  died  and,  except  that  the  son 
who  went  to  England  died  on  the  homeward  voyage,  the  re- 
suit  of  the  King's  experiment  is  not  recorded. 

In  1807,  twenty  years  after  the  landing  of  the  colonists,  the 
Company  turned  Sierra  Teone  over  to  the  British  govern- 
ment. In  the  sa.ne  year  the  slave  trade  was  declared  piracy 
and  an  English  squadron  was  stationed  along  the  coast  to  put 
down  the  trade  and  to  recapture  slaves.  Many  hundreds  were 
added  to  the  population  in  this  way. 

Sierra  Leone  has  passed  through  many  trials  before  reach- 
ing its  present  state,  and  there  are  also  a  number  of  very  in- 
teresting things  in  the  history  of  this  colony.  The  very  first 
person  who  actually  conducted  Negro  emigrants  from  America 
to  Africa  was  Capt.  Paul  Cuftee,  a  wealthy  Negro  of  New  Bed- 
ford, Mass.  Among  the  colored  residents  who  have  risen  to 
prominence  may  be  mentioned  Mr.  John  Carr,  Queens  Advo- 
cate in  1810  and  Chief  Justice  in  1811 ;  Samuel  Crowther,  a 
native  and  the  first  African  admitted  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land (1841)  and  first  Bishop  of  Niger  (1864)';  Staff  Surgeon 
\V.  Ferguson,  of  the  Army  Medical  Department  (1813)  and 
Acting  Governor  (1841)  ;  Mr.  Robert  Dougan,  Queens  Ad- 
vocate (1832),  Acting  Governor  (1858-5D)  ;  Dr.  Janes  W. 
Blyden,  scholar,  author  and  diplomat.  Dr.  Blyden,  who  died 
February,  1912,  was,  on  more  than  one  occasion  entrusted 
with  missions  to  the  natives  in  the  interior  which  required 
great  tact  and  skill  and  which  were  always  successful. 
*  On  his  mission  to  the  King  or  Alami  of  Timbo,  in  1S73,  Dr. 
Blyden  was  invited  to  accompany  His  Majesty  to  a  town  fifty 
miles  away  where  was  gathered  an  army  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
thousands  Foulahs.  "The  town  was  crowded  and  prepara- 
tions  for  war  were  being  made,  but  prayers  were  not  neg- 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  43 


lected.  Five  times  a  day  immense  crowds  gathered  at  the 
Mosque  and  soldiers  with  a  musket  in  one  hand  and  their 
beads  in  the  other  might  be  seen  going  through  their  devo- 
tions." 

The  chief  official  in  Sierra  Leone  is  a  governor  appointed 
by  the  English  Crown,  a  colonial  secretary,  and  an  executive 
and  a  legislative  council.  Freetown,  the  greatest  seaport  on 
the  West  Coast,  is  the  seat  of  government ;  it  has  an  excellent 
harbor,  fortified  with  several  batteries  of  heavy  guns. 

There  is  a  government  school  for  the  sons  of  chiefs  ;  there 
are  public,  technical  and  church  mission  schools,  besides  Fourah 
Bay  College,  established  in  1845,  and  connected  with  the  L  ni- 
versity  of  Durham.  There  is  at  present  a  railway  of  about 
three  hundred  miles  and  others  planned. 

In  size  Sierra  Leone  is  about  equal  to  the  State  of  Maine; 
much  of  the  land  has  been  cleared,  and  is  regularly  tilled  ;  the 
natives  come  into  the  cities  for  employment  between  the  sow- 
ing and  reaping  of  their  crops;  sanitary  arrangements  and  a 
better  understanding  of  the  fever  have  improved  health  con- 
ditions ;  many  of  the  citizens  are  skilled  artisans,  several  are 
merchants,  and  Sierra  Leone  is  now  a  flourishing  colony. 


44 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  VII. 
LIBERIA. 

O  NE  of  the  first  persons  in  America  to  publicly  denounce 
the  slave  trade  and  to  act  upon  his  convictions  was  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Hopkins,  of  Newport,  R.  I.  He  had  owned  and  sold 
a  slave,  but  afterward  became  convinced  of  the  sinfulness  of 
his  conduct  and  devoted  himself  to  arousing  the  consciences 


LIBERIAN   SOLDIERS  AND   CITIZENS. 

of  his  neighbors.  He  formed  a  plan  to  educate  freedmen  and 
send  them  as  missionaries  to  their  native  land,  and  he  appro- 
priated to  that  purpose  the  money  received  from  the  sale  of  his 
slave ;  he  borrowed  money  to  free  a  slave  whom  he  thought 
especially  intelligent  and  brought  about  the  emancipation  of 
three  others.  In  August,  1773,  he  published  an  address  to  the 
public  in  which  he  outlined  his  plans  and  begged  for  assistance; 
he  mentioned  two  devout  African  members  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  Newport,  by  name  John  Quamine  and  Bristol 
Yamma,  who  were  willing  and  anxious  to  carry  as  best  they 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  45 


could,  civilization  and  Christianity  to  their  brethren  in  Africa. 

Quamine,  who  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  native  of  Annam- 
bbe,  had  been  sent  by  his  father  to  England  to  be  educated,  but 
the  person  to  whom  he  had  been  entrusted,  had  treacherously 
sold  him  into  slavery.  Besides  the  two  named,  Salmur  Nubia, 
another  young  African,  was  desirous  of  furthering  Dr.  Hop- 
kins' plan.  But  little  money  was  donated  and  when  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  broke  out,  it  put  an  end  to  the  project.  Many 
years  after,  two  of  Dr.  Hopkins'  proteges  joined  the  Ljberian 
colony  —  one  of  them  was  Salmur  Xubia,  the  other  Deacon 
Newport  Gardner. 

In  1787,  Dr.  Thornton,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  published  "  an 
address  to  the  free  people  of  color  in  Rhode  Island  and  Massa- 
chusetts," inviting  them  to  accompany  him  to  the  west  coast 
of  Africa,  there  to  plant  a  colony,  but  the  plan  fell  through  for 
lack  of  funds. 

"The  first  public  meeting  ever  held  in  this  country  to  con- 
sider the  subject  of  African  Colonization  was  called  by  Dr. 
Robert  Finley,  and  was  held  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Princeton,  X.  J.  After  maturing  his  plans,  Dr.  Finley  went  to 
Washington  in  December,  1816,  during  the  session  of  Congress 
and  succeeded  in  having  many  of  the  prominent  men  present  in 
the  city  attend  a  meeting  to  consider  his  project.  Hon.  Henry 
Clay  was  present  and  was  called  to  the  chair.  After  the  society 
was  organized  many  other  prominent  Americans  became 
actively  interested  in  its  work.  Among  them  were  Judge 
Dushrod  Washington,  Thomas  Jefferson,  James  Monroe,  John 
Marshall,  John  Randolph,  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  and  Francis  Scott 
Key. 

About  thirty-rive  years  after  the  first  colony  of  freedmen 
went  from  England  to  Sierra  Leone,  the  American  Coloniza- 
tion Society  sent  a  company  of  freedmen  from  this  country  to 
Africa.  About  the  same  time,  Congress  authorized  the  Presi- 
dent to  provide  a  place  in  Africa  for  the  sla\es  who  might  be 
recaptured  at  sea.  The  government  chartered  a  vessel  to  carry 
its  agents  and  agreed  to  take  also  the  agent  of  the  Colonization 


46  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


Society  and  such  free  Negroes  as  that  organization  should 
recommend.  Eighty-nine  persons  were  finally  selected  and  the 
vessel  sailed  from  New  York  February  6,  1821,  arriving  in 
Sierra  Leone  March  9. 

The  government  agents  in  charge  were  Rev.  Samuel  Bacon 
and  John  P.  Bankson,  while  Dr.  Samuel  Crozer  was  the  agent 
of  the  colonization  society.  The  emigrants  made  a  temporary 
settlement  at  Sherbo,  but  before  land  could  be  purchased  for  a 
permanent  home  the  agents  and  many  of  the  colonists  died. 
Just  before  his  death  Dr.  Crozer  solemnly  entrusted  the  colony 
and  all  its  posessions  to  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Coker,  a 
colored  Methodist  preacher.  Though  new  to  such  responsi- 
bility, the  latter  managed  affairs  with  great  ability  and  received 
the  praise  of  Dr.  Ayrcs,  the  next  agent. 

After  looking  over  the  situation  Dr.  Ayres  decided  to  buy 
land  on  Mesurado  Bay,  and  in  December,  1821 ,  made  an  agree- 
ment with  the  six  native  kings  or  headmen  who  owned  the 
ground,  receiving  a  deed  to  the  same  and  giving  in  exchange 
muskets,  beads,  gunpowder,  rum,  knives,  forks,  spoons,  hats, 
coats,  looking-glasses,  handkerchiefs,  canes,  umbrellas,  soap, 
etc.  The  contracting  parties  pledged  themselves  to  live  in 
peace  forever.  The  first  colony  arrived  at  Mesurado  on  Jan- 
uary 7,  1882,  and  found  much  work  awaiting  them;  land  was 
to  be  cleared,  shelter  made  for  the  provisions,  houses  built  for 
themselves  and  many  other  things  to  be  done  which  life  in  a 
new  country  required. 

Though  the  natives  had  promised  friendship  it  was  not  long 
before  they  began  to  show  signs  of  hostility.  Slave  traders  in 
the  neighborhood  aroused  ill  feeling  by  telling  the  tribes  that 
if  the  colony  was  allowed  to  flourish,  it  would  break  up  the 
selling  of  slaves  and  would  mean  the  loss  of  the  rum  and 
tobacco  which  the  natives  had  been  taught  to  prize.  Several 
raids  were  made  upon  the  colonists  and  they  who  were  already 
fighting  disease  and  great  bodily  discomfort  were  called  upon 
to  take  arms  and  fight  for  life  itself.  The  situation  called  forth 
the  best  that  was  in  them  and  among  the  freedmen  who  dis- 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  47 


tingnished  themselves  in  the  early  clays,  along  more  than  one 
line  were  Lot  Gary  and  wife,  Elijah  Johnston,  Collin  Teague 
and  wife,  Joseph  Blake,  Richard  Sampson  and  Joseph  Lang- 
ford  and  wife.  Later  came  Joseph  Shepherd,  a  school  teacher, 
and  J.  B.  Russwurm,  who  founded  and  edited  the  Liberia 
Herald  and  afterward  became  Governor  of  New  Maryland. 
Colored  lieutenant  governors  were  Lot  Ca^y,  Rev.  C.  M. 
Waring,  Anthony  D.  Williams,  J.  J.  Roberts.  Other  notable 
characters  of  colonial  Liberia  were  George  M.  Erskine,  a  Pres- 
byterian minister;  Jacob  W.  Prout,  of  Baltimore;  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Tittler,  missionaries;  Archie  Moore  and  Closter  Simpson, 
of  Mississippi;  Dr.  Robert  McDowell,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
colonial  physician;  and  Charles  H.  Webb,  his  assistant. 

In  L836  Mr.  James  Brown  was  elected  President  of  the 
Town  Council  of  Monrovia,  an  office  equal  to  that  of  mayor. 
Mr.  Brown  took  the  greatest  interest  in  agriculture  and  made 
a  number  of  very  interesting  and  successful  experiments.  He 
published  several  circulars  looking  to  the  pro  notion  of  good 
farming  in  the  colony  and  he  also  instituted  an  agricultural 
conversation  club,  a  fair  and  a  museum.  He  lent  every  assist- 
ance to  the  White  Plains  Manual  Labor  School,  established 
during  his  presidency  by  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  school  was  located  at  Millsburg,  a 
beautiful  and  fertile  spot,  and  was  under  the  care  of  Rev.  B.  R. 
Wilson. 

No  one  can  read  the  early  history  of  Liberia  without  deeply 
appreciating  the  spirit  of  Christian  love  and  devotion  which 
moved  the  white  agents  and  missionaries  most  of  whom  gave 
their  lives  to  the  cause;  among  them  were  Bacon,  Andrus 
Sessions,    Helton,   Ashmun,   Randall,    Levi    Scott   and   others. 

The  spirit  which  animated  Bacon  seems  to  have  been  in  all 
the  rest.  Said  he,  "As  regards  myself,  I  counted  the  cost  of 
engaging  in  the  service  before  I  left  America.  I  came  to  these 
shores  to  die  and  anything  better  than  death  is  better  than  I 
expect." 

After  the  colony  had  been  establidied,  main-  slave  owners 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


in  the  United  States  freed  their  slaves  and  sent  them  to  Liberia. 
Hundreds  were  recaptured  from  slave  vessels,  and  several 
companies  of  free  Negroes  joined  the  colony.  The  colonization 
society  had  branches  in  many  states  and  was  untiring  in  its 
effort  to  support  the  colony.  The  Colonization  Society  of 
Maryland  was  independent  of  the  National  Colonization 
Society  because  it  was  found  that  thereby  it  would  receive 
more  support  from  the  state  legislature.  The  colony  at  Cape 
Palmas  was  founded  and  controlled  by  the  Maryland  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  but  finally  became  part  of  the  Liberian  Republic. 

The  natives  showed  themselves  willing  to  be  taught. 
Writing  of  them  in  1827  Lot  Cary  said:  "  The  heathen  in  our 
vicinity  are  very  anxious  for  the  means  of  light.  They  will 
buy  it.  beg  it,  and  sooner  than  miss  it,  they  will  steal  it.  In 
renewing  our  school  establishment  up  to  Cape  Mount.  T  had 
upwards  of  forty  natives  carry  out  baggage,  and  though  they 
had  every  opportunity  to  commit  depredations  nothing  was  lost 
except  fifteen  spelling  books." 

When  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  Liberia  as  a  colony 
could  not  defend  itself  steps  were  taken  to  form  it  into  an 
independent  government,  and  on  July  26,  18-17,  the  colony 
became  the  Free  and  Independent  Republic  of  Liberia.  Article 
I,  Section  1  of  the  constitution  reads  as  follows:  All  men  are 
born  equally  free  and  independent,  and  have  certain  natural 
inherent  and  inalienable  rights,  among  which  arc  the  rights  of 
enjoying  and  defending  life  and  liberty,  of  acquiring,  possess- 
ing and  protecting  property,  and  of  pursuing  and  obtaining 
safety  and  happiness. 

The  republic  was  first  recognized  by  Great  Britain,  next 
by  France  and  then  by  the  other  powers.  The  chief  officials 
are  the  President,  Vice  President,  a  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  a  Cabinet  and  a  Supreme  Court.  The  Presi- 
dent must  be  thirty-five  years  of  age  and  own  real  estate ; 
electors  must  be  of  Negro  blood  and  be  owners  of  land  ;  na- 
tives may  vote  but  usually  do  not  except  in  larger  towns. 

Governor  Joseph  Jenkins  Roberts  became  the  first  President 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  49 


of  the  Liberian  Republic  and  served  from  1848  to  1856.  Suc- 
ceeding Presidents  were  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Benson,  1856-64; 
Daniel  Warner,  1804-68;  James  S.  Payne,  1868-70;  Edward 
J.  Roye,  1870-72;  James  Jenkins  Roberts,  1872-16;  James 
Spriggs  Payne,  1876-78;  Anthony  W.  Gardner,  1878-84; 
Hiliary  R.  W.  Johnson,  1884-1891 ;  Joseph  J.  Cheeseman, 
1892-98;  William  D.  Coleman,  1898-11)00;  Garretson  W.  Gib- 
son, 1900-04;  Arthur  Barclay,  1904-12. 

On  January  1,  1912,  Hon.  Daniel  Edward  Howard  was 
inaugurated  President  of  the  republic.  "  It  was  the  first  inau- 
guration ever  attended  by  native  chiefs." 

Liberia  is  about  the  size  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  the 
total  population  is  between  fifteen  and  twenty-one  hundred 
thousand,  about  twelve  thousand  of  whom  are  Americo- 
Liberians.  The  principal  tribes  represented  are  the  Mandingo. 
the  Kisi,  the  Gola,  the  Kru  and  allies.  The  coast  region  is 
divided  into  three  counties  —  Basa,  Sino,  and  Maryland. 

There  is  a  government  college,  Methodist  college  and  a 
Protestant  Episcopal  high  school ;  Dr.  Blyden  was  at  one  time 
president  of  Liberia  College.  Dr.  Alexandet  Crummell  once 
had  charge  of  the  Episcopal  mission  in  that  country. 

Francis  Burns  was  the  first  colored  missionary  bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  Wrest  Africa,  serving  from 
1858  to  1863.  In  1834  he  went  to  Liberia  and  did  splendid 
work  as  evangelist  and  teacher.  Upon  his  election  to  the 
bishopric,  he  came  to  this  country  to  be  ordained  and  returned 
to  Africa.  In  a  few  years  his  health  failed  and  in  1868  he  died. 
John  Wright  Roberts  was  ordained  a  few  years  afterward 
and  succeeded  Bishop  Burns.  "  Roberts  vigorously  carried 
forward  the  work  so  wisely  begun  by  his  predecessor,  and  it 
is  said  that  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1875,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Africa  numbered  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  souls."  "  The  Right  Reverend  S.  D.  Ferguson,  the 
present  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Liberia,  is  a  native 
of  South  Carolina.  Bishop  Ferguson  has  spent  almost  his 
entire  life  in  Africa.     Although  now  advanced  in  age,  he  is 


So  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


extremely  active  and  has  a  firm  grip  on  his  work.  He  has 
trained  up  a  fine  body  of  native  clergymen." 

In  Liberia  there  is  an  organized  militia,  a  volunteer  force 
and  a  police  force.  Every  male  citizen  from  sixteen  years  old 
to  fifty,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  is  liable  to  serve.  The 
national  flag  bears'  a  single  star  and  stripes. 

The  hinterland  is  undeveloped  so  that  the  resources  of  the 
country  are  not  exactly  known,  but  gold,  diamonds,  copper, 
lead,  zinc  have  been  found.  There  are  no  railways  and  oxcarts 
are  the  vehicles  commonly  used ;  a  motor  road  has  recently 
been  constructed,  about  twenty  miles  in  length.  Seven  lines 
of  steamers  regularly  visit  Monrovia  —  British,  German, 
French.  Spanish. 

The  following  colored  Americans  have  served  as  United 
States  Ministers  to  Liberia :  Hon.  J.  Milton  Turner,  John  H. 
Smyth.  Henry  Highland  Garnet,  O.  W.  L.  Smith,  Ernest 
Lyon,  W.  D.  Crum.  Hon.  James  Robert  Spurgeon,  a  graduate 
of  Yale,  was  at  one  time  secretary  of  legation.  He  was  com- 
mended for  excellent  service.  In  1902,  Hon.  George  W.  Ellis, 
of  Kansas  University,  succeeded  Mr.  Spurgeon.  Mr.  Ellis 
served  eight  and  one  half  years,  and  as  he  is  an  authority  upon 
questions  of  economics  and  sociology,  he  was  able  to  render 
important  service  to  the  Liberian  government. 

Of  Liberia,  Mr.  Ellis  says:  '"Liberia  offers  to  the  United 
States  an  opening  to  the  most  extensive,  the  most  desirable  and 
the  best  paying  commerce  of  all  the  world.  Agricultural  pos- 
sibilities of  the  republic  are  tremendous,  on  account  of  the 
fertility  of  the  soil.  Liberia  also  affords  access  to  a  hundred 
million  Sudanese  natives,  the  highest  type  of  the  Negro  race, 
and  cultured  in  many  arts."  "The  Sudanese  of  northern  Africa 
have  a  civilization  dating  back  for  centuries,  and  similar  in  its 
origin  to  that  which  made  Morocco  the  metropolis  of  Negro 
culture  years  ago." 

Besides  the  multitude  of  valuable  articles  to  be  found  in 
Liberia  proper  and  the  Hinterland,  "  not  least  are  the  hides  of 
many  animals  —  of  the  leopard,  the  beautiful  spotted  bushcat, 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  5» 


of  many  varieties  of  deer,  of  the  monkey,  the  alligator  and  the 
boa-constrictor.  All  these  beasts  inhabit  the  interior.  The 
elephant  is  to  be  found  within  two  or  three  days'  walk  of  Cape 
Mount.  Domestic  cattle  are  also  numerous  on  the  Mandingan 
plains  and  among  some  of  the  coast  tribes.  These  cattle  are 
descended  from  ancient  stock,  introduced  into  Africa  centuries 
ago  from  Egypt  and  the  Mediterranean." 

The  government  of  Liberia  has  not  had  a  smooth  path,  for, 
envious  of  the  great  natural  wealth  which  the  country  contains, 
some  of  the  European  powers  have  artfully  tried  to  undermine 
the  republic.  In  1910  a  commission,  appointed  by  President  of 
U.  S.,  visited  Liberia  to  look  into  the  condition  of  the  country, 
as  the  Liberians  had  urgently  requested  America  to  come  to 
their  aid.  The  commission  consisted  of  Messrs.  Roland  P. 
Folkner,  George  Sale  and  Emmett  J.  Scott :  the  latter  has  been 
for  many  years,  secretary  to  Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington.  The 
commission  reported  favorably  and  the  United  States  has 
established  a  sort  of  financial  protectorate  over  the  country  and 
has  placed  American  officials  in  charge  of  Liberian  customs. 

Writing  of  Liberia  in  1832  a  visitor  says :  "  All  my  expecta- 
tions in  regard  to  the  health,  harmony,  order,  contentment, 
industry  and  general  prosperity  of  the  settlers  were  more  than 
realized.  I  saw  no  intemperance  nor  did  I  hear  a  profane 
word.  I  know  of  no  place  where  the  Sabbath  appears  to  be 
more  respected  than  in  Monrovia ;  no  man,  not  even  a  native, 
could  be  hired  "  for  love  or  money  "  to  work  on  the  Sabbath 
day.  Most  of  the  settlers  appear  to  be  rapidly  acquiring  prop- 
erty and  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  are  doing  better  for  them- 
serves  and  their  children  than  they  could  do  in  any  other  part 
of  the  world." 

"Previous  to  the  settlement  of  Liberia  the  mouths  of  the 
rivers  St.  Paul,  Mesurado  and  St.  John  were  the  greatest  marts 
for  slaves  on  the  windward  coast.  Thousands  came  down 
those  streams  each  year  and  were  sold  away.  Now  those 
rivers  are  used  by  the  husbandmen  to  bring  their  produce  to 
Monrovia,   Grand   Bassa   and   Etina,   and   the   native   paddles 


52  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


his  canoe  in  safety  under  the  protection  of  the  colonies  founded 
by  the  Colonization  Society." 

A  visitor  to  Liberia  in  1910  writes :  "  The  people  of  Mon- 
rovia look,  act  and  dress  very  like  the  better  class  of  Negroes 
of  Atlanta  or  Louisville.  All  the  Americo-Liberians  (and 
many  civilized  natives)  are  neatly  but  not  flashily  clothed,  and 
most  of  the  aborigines  put  on  an  extra  cloth  when  they  come 
to  town.  I  doubt  if  there  be  anywhere  in  the  United  States  a 
Negro  community  of  the  size  of  Monrovia  where  there  is  so 
little  boisterousness  or  profanity.  Swearing  is  a  lost  art  and  I 
saw  but  one  case  of  drunkenness  during  my  first  month  in 
Monrovia." 

"  The  Liberian  Sabbath  suggests  the  quiet  of  a  New  England 
city  —  a  quiet  that  is  broken  only  by  the  sound  of  church 
organs  and  congregational  singing.  The  churches  are  well 
attended  and  the  services  are  conducted  with  due  regard  to 
dignity  and  reverence."  So  you  see  that  for  at  least  eighty 
years  the  Liberians  have  conducted  themselves  with  the  same 
dignity  and  have  had  no  need  to  be  ashamed  of  their  country. 

A  writer  describes  the  inaugural  ceremonies  of  President 
Howard,  held  January  1.  1912,  as  very  imposing.  "  It  was  the 
first  inauguration  ever  attended  by  native  chiefs,  headmen  and 
retainers,  and  their  presence  was  significant.  They  talked 
nothing  but  peace  and  prosperity,  and  promised  to  do  all  in 
their  power  to  make  the  new  administration  a  highly  successful 
one.  Nearly  two  thousand  natives  from  the  interior  listened  to 
President  Howard  advocate  that  they  be  given  equal  rights, 
and  when  on  the  second  day  President  Howard  and  Vice 
President  Harmon  donned  attire  similar  to  that  worn  by  the 
native  chiefs,  the  incident  occasioned  much  good  feeling." 

Following  is  the  official  family  of  the  new  administration : 
President,  Daniel  Edward  Howard ;  Vice  President,  Samuel 
George  Harmon ;  Secretary  of  State,  C.  D.  B.  King ;  Secretary 
of  Treasury,  Thomas  \V.  Haynes ;  Secretary  of  War  and  Navy, 
Wilmot  E.  Dennis ;  Postmaster  General,  Col.  Isaac  Moort ; 
Secretary  of  Interior,  J.  J.  Morris ;  Attorney  General,  Samuel 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  53 


A.  Ross ;  Secretary  of  Education,  B.  W.  Payne ;  Executive 
Secretary  to  the  President,  Walter  F.  Walker. 

Still  another  writer  sums  up  a  recent  article  on  Liberia  as 
follows :  The  Republic  needs  men,  not  so  much  missionaries 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  Like  the  Negroes  of  the 
United  States,  she  appears  to  have  no  lack  of  preachers.  She 
needs  men  who  will  support  themselves  by  their  toil,  and  who, 
as  citizens,  will  strive  for  the  national  good.  Especially  does 
she  need  men  of  mechanical  ability  to  grapple  with  her  indus- 
trial tasks.  I  think  if  I  were  a  Negro,  Liberia  would  appeal 
to  me  strongly  upon  this  ground.  I  think  I  would  count  it  a 
privilege  to  cast  in  my  lot  with  the  Negro  Republic,  to  toil  with 
her  for  high  national  ideals,  for  the  assimilation  and  civiliza- 
tion of  my  brothers  of  the  jungle,  and  to  prove  to  the  world 
what  the  black  man  can  do. 


54 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
HAITI  AND  SANTO  DOMINGO. 

HAITI  lies  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  a  short  distance,  about  600 
miles,  to  the  southeast  of  Florida.     This  little   island 
which  Christopher  Columbus  named  Hispanola  or  little 
Spain  and  which  was  afterward  called   Santo  Domingo,  has 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  PALACE,    PORT  AU  PRINCE,  HAITI. 

been  the  scene  of  many  stirring  events  which  we  can  here  but 
briefly  mention.  On  this  island  Europeans  built  the  first  city 
and  erected  the  first  Christian  church  in  the  New  World ;  here 
Negro  slaves  struck  their  first  blow  for  freedom  and  here  was 
founded  the  first  Negro  Republic. 

In  formation  the  country  is  diversified  by  mountains  and 
valleys,  by  majestic  plains  and  swiftly  flowing  rivers:  the 
landscape  is  attractive  and  the  climate  delightful.  When  Co- 
lumbus and  his  fellow-voyagers  came  upon  the  island  in  De- 
cember, 1492,  the  beauty  of  the  country  and  the  kindness  of 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  55 


the  natives  so  impressed  him  that  in  reporting  his  discovery 
to  the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain,  he  said :  "These  people  love 
their  neighbors  as  themselves;  their  discourse  is  ever  sweet 
and  gentle  and  accompanied  with;  a  smile.  I  swear  to  your 
Majesties  there  is  not  a  better  nation  or  a  better  land."  You 
will  regret  to  learn  that  the  example  of  these  natives  (who 
though  ignorant  of  the  Christ,  yet  practiced  his  precepts)  was 
utterly  lost  upon  the  Spaniards,  so-called  followers  of  Jesus. 
The  Spaniards  had  not  long  been  settled  upon  the  island  be- 
fore they  had  turned  the  friendly  natives  into  bitter  foes  and 
the  bitterest  foe  of  all  was  Caonbo. 

He  had  his  stronghold  in  one  of  the.  mountain  fastnesses  and 
after  the  Spaniards  began  to  cruelly  treat  the  natives  Caonbo 
and  his  followers  would  descend  from  the  mountains  and 
wreak  vengeance  upon  the  whites.  For  a  long  time  he  was  a 
terror  to  the  settlers,  but  he  was  finally  captured  by  treachery 
and  placed  on  board  a  vessel  bound  for  Spain,  though  he  did 
not  live  to  reach  there.  .  . 

It  is  said  that  when  the.  Spaniards  discovered  the  island,  the 
natives  numbered  about  one  million  and  in  fifteen  years, 
through  overwork  and  cruel  treatment,  only  about  one-twen- 
tieth of  them  were  living  and  by  the  year  l'oOO  the  last  native 
had  died.  The  childish,  trusting  natives  were  taught  from  the 
beginning  that  the  Spaniards  came  from  heaven  and  as  the 
cruelties  increased  and  life  became  unbearable,  they  began  to 
ask  their  oppressors  when  they  would  return  to  heaven  and  to 
beg  them  to  hasten  their  departure.  

When  it  became  evident  that  the  natives  would  finally  die 
out  entirely,  the  wicked  plan  was  formed  to  capture  natives  of 
Africa  and  bring  them  over  the  sea  to  do  the  work  and  suffer 
the  treatment  which  had  killed  so  many  thousands  of  the  na- 
tive Indians  of  Hispanola  ;  this,  in  the  early  sixteenth  century 
was  the  beginning  of  Negro  slavery  in  the  Western  Hemi- 
sphere. 

The  English  and  the  French  had  long  envied  the  Spanish 
their  West  Indian  possessions,  and  in  1630  French  people  estnl>- 


56  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


lished  a  colony  at  St.  Christopher  on  the  island  of  Santo  Domin- 
go, but  the  Spanish  drove  them  away.  The  French  then  took 
refuge  on  the  tiny  island  of  Tortuga  near  by  and  lived  quietly 
there  for  awhile;  but  the  Spanish  went  there  one  day  while 
the  men  were  at  sea  and  killed  all  the  women  and  children. 
The  Frenchmen,  their  hearts  filled  with  grief  and  rage,  became 
pirates ;  others  joined  them  and  for  over  fifty  years  war  was 
waged  between  them  and  the  Spanish.  In  1697,  the  French 
obtained  from  Spain  a  regular  cession  of  the  western  part  of 
the  island  of  Santo  Domingo  and  began  to  colonize  it,  naming 
their  part  Haiti. 

After  that,  the  two  nations  lived  peacefully  on  the  island ; 
the  fertile  soil  was  thoroughly  cultivated  and  prosperity 
reigned.  Meanwhile,  there  had  sprung  up  three  distinct  di- 
visions of  the  population :  the  whites,  of  European  descent ; 
the  blacks,  of  African  descent,  and  the  mulattoes,  who  were  an 
admixture  of  the  other  two  races.  From  time  to  time  the 
blacks  had  risen  in  insurrection  because  of  cruel  treatment, 
many  had  escaped  to  the  mountains  and  had  there  made  for 
themselves  homes ;  but  the  large  majority  were  slaves.  The 
mulattoes,  though  free  in  name,  were  far  from  free  in  reality ; 
they  were  taken  advantage  of,  imposed  upon  and  the  worst 
indignities  heaped  upon  them ;  they  were  allowed  to  hold  no 
public  office,  to  take  no  part  in  public  affairs  and  to  practice 
no  profession,  it  mattered  not  how  well  qualified  they  might 
have  been.  So  they  busied  themselves  with  the  buying  of 
land  and  other  property  and  with  the  acquirement  of  educa- 
tion and  culture ;  they  were  compelled  to  serve  a  length  of 
time  in  the  army  and  became  skilled  in  the  tactics  of  war. 
Numbers  of  them  grew  very  wealthy,  traveled  abroad,  edu- 
cated their  children  in  France  and  were  persons  of  refined 
and  cultivated  tastes. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution  in  France,  the  population 
of  Haiti  was  about  500,000,  of  which  about  40,000  were  whites, 
30,000  mulattoes  and  the  remainder,  a  tremendous  majority, 
as  you  see,  were  black  slaves ;  the  mulattoes  at  this  time  owned 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  57 


about  one-third  of  the  soil  and  one-fourth  of  the  slaves.  While 
residing  in  France,  the  mulattoes  had  made  friends  among  the 
most  advanced  thinkers  of  that  country  and,  putting  before 
these  friends  the  state  of  affairs  in  Haiti,  had  received  great 
sympathy. 

The  whites  of  Haiti  largely  sided  with  the  revolutionary 
party  in  France  (though  some  were  Royalists)  and  at  once 
responded  to  the  call  oi  the  National  Convention  in  Paris  by 
sending  delegates  and  by  adopting  the  motto:  "Liberty,  Equal- 
ity, Fraternity."  The  mulattoes  also  demanded  representa- 
tion which  was  denied  them,  so  they  sent  a  delegation  of  their 
own,  headed  by  J.  Vincent  Oge,  who  had  been  educated  in 
France.  This  delegation  was  well  received  by  Lafayette,  Abbe 
Gregoire,  Robespierre  and  other  influential  Frenchmen,  who 
belonged  to  a  society  called  the  Friends  of  the  1  Macks,  and 
who  were  really  trying  to  put  into  practice  their  noble  motto; 
said  Robespierre,  "Perish  the  colonies  rather  than  sacrifice 
one  atom  of  our  principles." 

When  Oge  and  his  fellow  delegates  returned  to  Haiti  they 
were  arrested  "for  their  presumption"  and  put  to  death  in  a 
horrible  manner.  This  news  aroused  great  indignation  in 
Paris  and  the  Friends  of  the  Blacks  brought  such  influence  to 
bear  upon  the  National  Assembly  that  a  decree  was  passed 
declaring  that  "all  persons  of  color,  born  of  free  parents,  were 
entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  French  citizens." 

During  these  happenings  neither  whites  nor  mulattoes  had 
given  a  thought  to  the  slaves,  but  the  pulse  of  Freedom  was 
throbbing  throughout  the  world  and  the  blacks  were  thinking 
for  themselves.  They  had  long  been  secretly  planning  a  stroke 
of  some  kind  and  on  August  23rd,  1791,  they  arose  and  swept 
from  plantation  to  plantation,  killing  and  burning  as  they 
went.  It  is  said  that  fully  one  thousand  plantations  were  de- 
stroyed and  twelve  hundred  families  reduced  to  want  and 
misery.  As  mulattoes  and  whites  were  both  slave-holders, 
this  blow  drew  them  together  for  the  time  against  the  blacks; 
the  Spanish  of  Santo  Domingo  attacked  the  Haitians,  Royal- 


58  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


ists  fought  Revolutionists  and  the  war  which  resulted  was 
"neither  a  civil  war  nor  a  foreign  war,  nor  a  war  of  races, 
but  a  composite  of  all  three." 

At  this  moment  appeared  the  mighty  leader  of  the  Blacks, 
Pierre  Dominique  Toussaint  Breda,  who,  because  he  could 
always  find  a  way  or  make  one,  was  once  called  by  a  French 
General,  Toussaint  the  Opener,  Toussaint  L'Ouverture  and 
this  is  the  name  by  which  he  is  known  to  history.  As  a  child 
Toussaint  possessed  unusual  intelligence  and  was  taught  to 
read  and  write  by  a  fellow  slave.  As  he. grew  he  was  con- 
stantly improving  his  mind  ;  he  gained  quite  a  knowledge  of 
Latin  and  medicine  and  was  often  employed  as  a  horse  doctor. 
He  was  finally  promoted  to  be  coach  van  by  his  master  and 
allowed  the  use  of  the  library  in  his  spare  time.  This  advant- 
age he  fully  appreciated  as  you  may  judge. 

When  the  slave  insurrection  broke  out  on  an  adjoining  plan- 
tation, Toussaint  refused  to  join  the  blacks  because  he  thought 
their  plans  cruel  and  useless.  He  secretly  conveyed  his 
master  and  family  to  an  American  vessel  which  was  about  to 
sail  sending  with  them  as  much  produce  as  lie  could  gather. 
Then,  seeing  the  aimlessness  of  the  insurrection  and  the  need 
of  leaders,  he  joined  the  blacks  and  immediately  was  placed 
in  a  responsible  position.  He  disciplined  and  trained  his  men, 
who  were  devoted  to  him,  until  they  were  worthy  the  name 
"soldiers.'' 

Meantime  France  and  England  had  gone  to  war  and  in  May, 
179-4,  an  English  squadron  appeared  before  Port-Au-Frince  ; 
the  French  gave  up  the  city  and  the  English  took  quiet  pos- 
session. The  blacks  and  mulattoes  had  now  joined  forces  and 
occupied  the  mountainous  part  of  the  island  under  the  co  n- 
mand  of  Toussaint  and  Regaud,  a  mulatto.  In  March,  1797, 
the  French  government  appointed  Toussaint  commander-in- 
chief  of  all  the  armies  in  Haiti.  Fie  began  a  campaign  against 
the  English  "who  found  him  a  powerful  opponent,  and 
dreaded  exceedingly  to  fall  into  his  hands."  He  also  aided 
jn  conquering  the  Spanish  who  occupied  the  ea^rn  part  of 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  59 


the  island  and  they,  by  treaty,  gave  over  the  whole  island  to 
France.  Toussaint  next  concluded  a  treaty  with  General 
Maitland,  head  of  the  English  forces,  who  "in  behalf  of  his 
government  acknowledged  Haiti  to  be  an  independent,  neutral 
power  and  agreed  to  withdraw  his  forces  from  the  island." 

In  connection  with  the  withdrawal  of  the  English  a  story  is 
told  which  shows  what  manner  of  man  Toussaint  was.  To 
make  final  arrangements.  General  Maitland  had  agreed  to  visit 
General  Toussaint  at  his  headquarters,  and  to  do  so  he  was 
obliged  to  cross  territory  filled  with  hostile  Negro  soldiers. 
General  Ronnie,  a  Frenchman,  who  had  a  command  some  dis- 
tance away,  knowing  that  Maitland  was  practically  defence- 
less, sent  word  to  General  Toussaint  to  capture  the  English- 
man. When  the  latter  arrived  at  headquarters  he  was  com- 
pelled to  wait  quite  a  while  before  Toussaint  appeared,  and. 
realizing  his  position  began  to  grow  uneasy.  When  Toussaint 
finally  made  his  appearance,  he  gave  Maitland  two  letters  to 
read  ;  the  first  was  the  treacherous  advice  of  Roume  and  the 
other  his  reply,  which  read  as  follows:  "What!  Have  I  not 
passed  my  word  to  the  English  general?  How  then,  can  von 
suppose  that  I  will  cover  myself  with,  dishonor  by  breaking  it? 
His  reliance  on  my  good  faith  leads  him  to  put  himself  into 
my  power;  and  I  should  be  forever  infamous,  if  I  were  to  act 
as  you  advise.  I  am  faithfully  devoted  to  the  Republic  ;  but 
will  not  serve  it  at  the  expense  of  my  conscience  and  my 
honor."  It  is  needless  to  say  that  General  Maitland  was  ever 
after  a  firm  friend  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture. 

When  peace  was  restored,  Toussaint  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed governor  for  life,  showed  himself  as  able  to  lead  in 
the  affairs  of  state  as  in  affairs  of  war.  He  caused  the  adop- 
tion of  a  constitution  which  acknowledged  the  authority  of 
France,  but  allowed  no  distinction  between  citizens  because 
of  race  or  color;  the  whites  were  protected  and  their  estates 
restored  to  them  and  prosperity  returned  to  Haiti.  When 
Napoleon  Bonapart  made  himself  First  Consul  of  France. 
Toussaint,  admiring  his  genius,  sent  him  a  communication  ad- 


6o  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


dressed  "From  the  First  of  the  Blacks  to  the  First  of  the 
Whites."  Napoleon,  incapable  of  valuing  such  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart  as  Toussaint  possessed,  deeply  resented  what 
he  considered  the  presumption  of  the  ex-slave ;  he  could  not 
bear  the  thought  of  Haiti,  independent  and  free,  and  resolved 
to  establish  slavery  again. 

To  this  end  he  fitted  out  an  expedition  under  command  of 
his  brother-in-law,  Le  Clerc,  which  suddenly  appeared  off 
Cape  Francois.  Le  Clerc  seized  Sanjos,  the  harbormaster,  and 
threatened  to  hang  him  if  he  refused  to  lead  the  squadron  into 
the  harbor  or  to  reward  him  with  2,000  pounds  sterling  if 
he  consented.  Sanjos  heroically  refused  to  betray  his  country, 
but  Le  Clerc  succeeded  in  making  a  landing  near  by.  General 
Henri  Christophe,  commander  of  the  forces  in  the  vicinity, 
upon  hearing  of  the  arrival  of  the  French,  burned  the  town  to 
ashes  and  marched  his  men  to  Toussaint's  residence  about 
forty  miles  away. 

Le  Clerc  had  brought  over  with  him  Toussaint's  sons  who 
had  been  studying  in  France.  He  sent  them,  under  guard,  to 
their  father  to  beg  him  to  yield  quietly,  claiming  (the  boys 
really  believed  it)  that  Napoleon  had  only  the  good  of  Haiti 
at  heart.  Toussaint's  wife  joined  her  prayers  to  those  of  her 
children  and  the  great  general  began  to  feel  that  they  might 
be  right.  But  soon  his  insight  taught  him  that  the  French 
meant  nothing  but  evil  and  once  more  he  took  up  arms. 

When  Le  Clerc  found  that  he  could  not  subdue  the  Haitians 
he  made  a  treaty  of  peace  with  them  which  he  had  no  inten- 
tion of  keeping.  Shortly  after  this  the  home  of  Toussaint  was 
surrounded  at  midnight  and  he  and  his  family  were  placed  on 
a  vessel  and  hurried  to  France.  It  is  said  that  the  noble  gen- 
eral did  not  lose  hope,  but  felt  that  Napoleon  would  give  him 
justice.  Being  himself'the  soul  of  honor,  capable  of  justice  to 
his  humblest  enemy,  he  judged  the  First  Consul  by  himself, 
but  he  was  to  find  out  his  sad  mistake.  Upon  arriving  at 
France  he  was  separated  from  his  family;  he  never  saw  Na- 
poleon, but  was  taken  from  one  prison  to  another  and  finally 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  61 


unused  to  the  climate  and  tortured  by  cold  and  hunger,  on 
April  27th,  1803,  in  the  gloomy  dungeon  of  Joux,  great  Tous- 
saint  died. 

The  Haitians,  furious  at  the  treacherous  and  inhuman  treat- 
ment of  their  leader,  took  up  arms  under  General  Jean  Jac- 
ques Dessalines.  The  French  army  was  reduced  to  a  handful, 
as  much  by  yellow  fever  as  by  war  and  was  compelled  to  ca- 
pitulate. On  January  1st,  1807,  Haiti  proclaimed  her  inde- 
pendence and  Dessalines  was  appointed  governor  for  life, 
shortly  after  taking  upon  himself  the  title  of  Emperor  Jean 
Jacques  I.  Unfortunately,  he  had  not  experienced  and  wit- 
nessed the  inhumanities  of  the  French  and  Spanish  in  vain, 
and  after  a  reign  of  about  two  years,  marked  by  the  greatest 
cruelties  to  the  whites,  he  was  assassinated. 

The  Spanish  now  took  back  the  eastern  part  of  the  island 
and  the  western  was  governed  in  the  north  by  Henri  Chris- 
tophe  and  in  the  south  by  Petion ;  Christophe  took  the  title  of 
King  Henri  I  and  had  his  family  proclaimed  as  royal,  but 
Petion  remained  satisfied  with  the  title  of  president.  Upon 
the  death  of  these  two,  Haiti  was  united  under  the  rule  of 
Boyer.  He  succeeded  in  bringing  the  Spanish  part  under  his 
government,  and  the  whole  island  became  one  republic  and 
was  recognized  by  France  in  1S25.  In  1<S4'.\  the  citizens  re- 
volted against  Boyer  and  compelled  him  to  flee,  and  in  1844 
those  of  the  Spanish  section  formed  themselves  into  an  inde- 
pendent republic,  taking  their  old  name,  Santo  Domingo. 

The  capitol  of  the  Republic  of  Santo  Domingo  is  the  city  of 
the  same  name  which  was  founded  in  141)6  by  Bartolemeo 
Colombo,  brother  of  Christopher  Columbus.  It  was  destroyed 
by  hurricane  in  1547,  and  rebuilt  on  right  bank  of  the  Ozama. 
The  government  is  in  the  hands  of  a  president,  a  senate,  and  a 
chamber  of  deputies ;  there  is  a  supreme  court  and  a  regular 
army.  The  inhabitants  are  largely  of  mixed  European  and 
African  blood  and  there  are  many  Turks  and  Syrians ;  the 
language  is  Spanish  and  the  religion  Roman  Catholic.     The 


62  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


people  engage  in  cattle  raising,  etc.,  and  sugar  growing  is  a 
flourishing  industry. 

The  Republic  of  Haiti  is  governed  by  a  president,  a  senate 
and  a  chamber  of  commerce.  The  inhabitants  number  about 
960,000,  about  nine-tenths  of  whom  are  rated  Negroes,  the 
remainder  mulattoes.  There  are  four  hundred  national 
schools,  for  which  one  million  dollars  are  annually  appro- 
priated ;  the  religion  is  Roman  Catholic,  the  language  French ; 
the  people  chiefly  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  excel- 
lent coffee,  cotton  and  cocoa  are  grown.  There  is  a  light  rail- 
way and  a  tramway  of  about  five  miles  in  Port-au-Prince,  the 
capital. 

Besides  the  men  already  named,  the  following  have  ruled 
over  Haiti:  Jean  Pierre  Boyer,  from  1818  to  1843;  Herard- 
Riviere,  four  months ;  General  Pierrot ;  General  Soulouquc, 
who  called  himself  "Faustin  I,  Emperor  of  Haiti,"  and  ruled 
from  1847  until  1859,  organized  a  terrible  massacre  of  mulat- 
toes. He  was  succeeded  by  a  mulatto,  Fabre  Geffrard,  1859- 
67;  then  came  Sylvain  Salnave,  1867-9;  Nissage-Saget,  1869- 
7-1- ;  Michel  Domingue,  187-1-6 ;  General  Boisrond-Canal,  1876- 
9;  General  Salomon,  1879-88;  Gen.  F.  D.  Legitime,  1888-9; 
General  Hyppolite,  1889-96;  Gen.  T.  A.  S.  Sam,  1896-1902; 
Gen.  Nord  Alexis,  1902-08;  Gen.  H.  E.  A.  Simon,  1908-1911. 

Hon.  E.  D.  Bassett,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  first  United 
States  Minister  to  Plaiti,  and  served  from  1869  to  1877.  He 
was  succeeded  by  John  M.  Langston.  Other  ministers  were 
Frederick  Douglass,  John  S.  Durham,  W.  F.  Powell. 

The  Rev.  Theodore  Plolly,  minister  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  made  a  visit  to  Plaiti  in  1855  to  consult  with  the 
authorities  there  as  to  the  proposed  settling  in  that  country  of 
American  Negroes.  In  1861,  a  number  of  colored  people  left 
this  country  to  make  their  homes  in  Haiti,  and  some  of  their 
descendants  are  there  at  the  present  time.  In  1874,  Mr.  Holly 
was  consecrated  Bishop  in  Grace  Church,  New  York,  and 
was  given  charge  of  the  work  in  Haiti.     Bishop  Holly  gained 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  63 


the  affection  of  the  people  and  did  a  notable  work  in  the  island. 
He  died  March  22,  1911. 

The  history  of  Haiti  is  not  a  peaceful  one,  for  the  Haitians 
are,  as  we  have  seen,  both  by  inheritance  and  training,  a  war- 
like people  and  there  have  been  many  uprisings  and  revolu- 
tions. It  has  been  said,  however,  that  the  mass  of  the  people 
have  long  since  tired  of  war;  and,  indeed,  how  could  it  be 
otherwise  since  they  are  always  the  ones  who  suffer  most? 

There  has  been  and  is,  however,  a  set  of  men  who,  instead 
of  devoting  their  time  and  talents  to  the  arts  of  peace,  are 
always  ready  to  bring  about  an  upheavel  hoping  thereby  to 
gain  for  themselves  wealth  or  position  ;  there  are  also  men  of 
other  nations  who,  hoping  for  financial  gain,  are  constantly, 
though  secretly,  urging  the  Haitian  malcontents  to  revolution. 

How  sad  that  the  example  of  great  Toussaint  should  so 
often  be  forgotten;  Toussaint  to  whom  Haiti  was  always  first 
and  self  last;  Toussaint,  true  patriot,  statesman  and  soldier  of 
whom  it  has  been  said:  "It  is  to  affirm  the  scantiest  truth  that 
to  the  names  of  Cincinnatus  and  Washington,  history  has 
added  that  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture." 


64 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  IX. 
BRAZIL,  JAMAICA,  AND  BERMUDA. 

THE  early  history- of  the  Negro  in  Brazil  and  in  all  the  West 
Indies   Islands  was  much  the  same  as  the  early  history  of 
the  wicked  system  of  slavery  in  Haiti.    In  each  place  we 
see  the  native  Indians  oppressed,  crushed  and  killed  in  great 
numbers ;  we  then  see  native  Africans  brought  over  to  take  the 


A   MAROON   TOWN   IN  JAMAICA. 

place  of  the  Indians.  Brazil  was  the  headquarters  of  slavery  in 
South  America,  and  the  first  African  slaves  were  brought  to 
Brazil  by  the  Dutch,  in  the  early  seventeenth  century.  Though 
for  many  years  the  Dutch  and  the  Portuguese  contended  for 
power  in  Brazil,  to  the  Negro  it  mattered  not  which  side  won 
for  he  still  remained  in  slavery.  Both  nations  established  col- 
onies in  Africa  whence  they  exported  natives  to  the  New 
World,  and  it  is  said  that  for  years  the  average  exportation 
was  not  less  than  forty  thousand  each  year. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  65 


In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  about  seventy 
years  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  slaves,  a  number  of  Negroes 
working  in  the  forests  of  Pernambuco,  beat  down  their  over- 
seers, took  their  freedom  and  for  many  years  harried  the  Por- 
tuguese. In  1719  a  plot  was  formed  by  Negroes  in  Minas 
Geraes,  southeast  Brazil,  to  kill  all  the  whites  on  Holy  Thurs- 
day ;  but  the  plan  was  betrayed  before  the  time  and  most  of 
those  concerned  in  it  fled  to  the  forests  and  lived  with  the 
Indians.  These  and  other  escaped  slaves  in  Brazil  and  the 
West  Indies  became  known  as  Maroons. 

The  origin  of  the  word  "  Maroon  "  is  uncertain,  but  it  was 
a  name  greatly  dreaded  by  the  whites  of  the  countries  above 
named,  for  the  Maroons  were  merciless  and  fearless.  In  the 
Dutch  colony  of  Surinam,  a  band  of  Maroons  had  been  form- 
ing for  some  years  and  by  suddenly  descending  upon  the  set- 
tlers, from  time  to  time,  had  obtained  arms  and  ammunition. 
The  authorities  of  the  colony  repeatedly  tried  to  conquer  or 
scatter  them,  but  were  always  unsuccessful. 

In  1736,  thinking  to  terrify  the  Maroons,  the  officials  of 
Surinam  executed  in  a  horrible  manner  a  few  who  had  been 
captured.  "  One  man  was  hanged  alive  by  an  iron  hook  stuck 
through  his  ribs,  two  others  were  burned  alive,  six  women  were 
broken  upon  the  wheel  and  two  little  girls  were  beheaded." 
But  instead  of  terrifying  the  Maroons  these  awful  deeds  made 
them  furious.  They  waged  such  effective  warfare  that  the 
Dutch  governor  of  Surinam  finally  offered  a  treaty  of  peace 
which  was  accepted  and  signed  by  the  great  Maroon  chief, 
Captain  Adjoe,  in  1-7  49.  Peace  lasted,  however,  but  a  short 
while,  and  after  that,  for  many  years,  there  was  war  between 
the  colonists  and  the  Maroons. 

In  1773  troops  were  brought  over  from  Holland  but  were 
unable  to  subdue  the  Negroes,  who  added  to  their  dauntless 
courage  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  finally  the 
colonists  gave  up  the  contest.  The  Maroons  formed  an  inde- 
pendent republic  with  laws  and  customs  of  their  own. 

The  great  majority  of  the  Negroes  in  Brazil,  however,  still 


66  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


remained  in  slavery,  though  few  of  them  became  reconciled  to 
that  condition.  Many  committed  suicide  and  the  more  cour- 
ageous joined  the  Maroons  or  went  to  live  with  the  natives  in 
the  forests. 

Laws  were  passed  in  favor  of  the  slaves  and  from  the  six- 
teenth century  they  were  allowed  about  eighty-five  days  in 
each  year  in  which  to  earn  money  with  which  to  purchase  their 
freedom  ;  beside,  "any  slave  who  was  the  parent  of  ten  chil- 
dren could  demand  his  or  her  freedom." 

A  number  of  the  freedmen  acquired  great  wealth,  educated 
their  children  and  not  a  few  became  priests  and  bishops  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  1828  an  English  clergyman  visit- 
ing Brazil  wrote  of  the  Negro  as  follows : 

"  For  the  first  time  I  saw  an  African  Negro  under  four 
aspects  of  society ;  and  it  appeared  to  me  that  in  every  one  his 
character  depended  upon  the  state  in  which  he  was  placed,  and 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held.  As  a  despised  slave  he 
was  lower  than  other  animals  of  burden  that  surrounded  him, 
more  miserable  in  his  look,  more  revolting  in  his  nakedness, 
more  distorted  in  his  person  and  apparently  more  deficient  in 
intellect  than  the  horses  and  mules  that  passed  him  by. 
Advanced  to  the  grade  of  a  soldier,  he  was  clean  and  neat  in 
his  person,  amenable  to  discipline,  expert  at  his  exercises,  and 
showed  the  port  and  bearing  of  a  white  man  similarly  placed 
As  a  citizen  he  was  remarkable  for  the  respectability  of  his 
appearance,  and  the  decorum  of  his  manners  in  the  rank 
assigned  him ;  and  as  a  priest,  standing  in  the  house  of  God, 
appointed  to  instruct  society  on  their  most  important  interests, 
and  in  a  grade  in  which  moral  and  intellectual  fitness  is  required, 
and  a  certain  degree  of  superiority  is  expected  he  seemed  even 
more  devout  in  his  orations  and  more  correct  in  his  manners 
than  his  white  associates.  I  came,  therefore,  to  the  irresistible 
conclusion  in  my  mind  that  color  is  an  accident  affecting  the 
surface  of  a  man  and  having  no  more  to  do  with  his  qualities 
than  his  clothes  —  that  God  had  equally  created  an  African  in 
the  image  of  his  person  and  equally  given  him  an  immortal 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  67 


soul ;  and  that  an  European  had  no  pretext  but  his  own  cupid- 
ity, for  impiously  thrusting  his  fellow  man  from  that  rank  in 
the  creation  which  the  Almighty  had  assigned  him,  and  degrad- 
ing him  below  the  lot  of  the  brute  beasts  that  perish." 

It  has  been  nearly  one  hundred  years  since  these  words  of 
wisdom  were  written  and  slavery  has  long  since  been  abolished 
in  Brazil  and  elsewhere.  As  you  grow  older,  my  children,  you 
will  understand  that  these  words  are  as  true  of  the  Negro 
today  as  ever  they  were  and  you  will  wonder  that  all  men 
everywhere  cannot  grasp  this  simple  truth. 

At  the  present  day  the  population  of  Brazil  is  largely  an 
admixture  of  Negro  and  Indian,  the  number  of  whites  being 
comparatively  small.  In  the  northern  provinces  the  Indian 
element  is  largest,  while  in  Pernambuco,  Bahai,  Rio  de  Janeiro 
and  JVIinas,  Negroes  are  more  numerous.  The  Negroes  of 
Bahia  are  said  to  be  physically  superb. 

Brazil  remained  a  Portuguese  colony  until  1822,  when  it 
became  independent  under  the  title  of  the  Empire  of  Brazil, 
and  Dom  Pedro,  son  of  the  King  of  Portugal,  was  crowned 
Emperor.  In  1871,  a  law  was  passed  for  the  gradual  abolition 
of  slavery  and  in  May,  1888,  slavery  was  entirely  abolished  in 
Brazil. 

The  peasant  class,  called  Moradores,  an  admixture  of  Ne- 
groes, Negroid  and  Indians,  settle  on  the  estates  of  the  larger 
land  owners  and  are  encouraged  to  do  so  by  the  owners  since 
they  give  labor  for  rent.  They  purchase  goods  and  borrow 
money  of  the  landlords  and  are  usually  in  their  debt.  The  land- 
lord and  his  wife  are  often  godparents  for  the  children  and  share 
with  them  the  two  principal  meals  of  the  day.  Speaking  of 
this  class  a  writer  says :  Until  the  Negro  in  Brazil  acquires 
money  and  invests  it  in  the  buying  and  development  of  land 
so  long  will  the  white  man  hold  the  political  and  social 
ascendency. 

But  there  is  no  color  line,  and  as  the  Negro  has  been  given 
every  opportunity  to  advance,  since  the  emancipation  and  many 
have    made    splendid    use    of    their   opportunities,    they    have 


68  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


proven  themselves  good  citizens  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
and  it  is  said  that  more  than  one  president  of  the  republic  has 
had  Negro  blood  in  his  veins. 

The  wealthier  Brazillian  Negroes  travel  extensively,  educate 
their  children  abroad  and  buy  much  of  their  clothing  in  the 
shops  of  London  and  Paris. 

JAMAICA. 

The  island  of  Jamaica,  lying  about  sixty  miles  to  the  south- 
west of  Haiti,  furnished  another  background  for  scenes  of 
Negro  daring  and  bravery  in  their  pursuit  of  freedom.  The 
lives  of  the  slaves  were  exceedingly  miserable,  and  in  the 
early  days  many  committed  suicide,  believing  that  thus  they 
would  return  to  Africa.  The  first  slaves  were  brought  over 
by  the  Spaniards  about  1517,  and  almost  from  the  beginning, 
the  Negroes  began  running  away  to  the  mountains  and  living 
with  the  natives,  as  in  Brazil.  When  the  English  gained  pos- 
session of  the  island,  in  1657,  these  Maroons  were  so  numerous 
and  so  well  organized  that  the  new  government  was  com- 
pelled to  recognize  them.  To  every  man  who  would  promise 
obedience,  twenty  acres  of  land  was  given  and  a  "Black  Regi- 
ment" was  formed  of  the  younger  men  under  command  of  Juan 
de  Bolas,  in  1664.  He  was  the  first  Negro  to  receive  the  rank 
of  colonel  in  the  Jamacia  militia.  But  the  Black  Regiment  was 
in  existence  but  a  short  time  before  its  leader  was  killed  and  it 
was  disbanded. 

From  that  time  on,  for  over  seventy  years  there  was  con- 
stant warfare  between  the  Maroons  and  the  colonists.  Jamaica 
abounded  in  fruits  of  many  kinds,  there  were  many  wild  pigs, 
turtles  and  pigeons  so  that  the  Maroons  were  well  provided 
with  food.  They  would  frequently  descend  upon  the  planters 
murder  them  and  their  families  and  burn  their  homes.  And 
this  was  kept  up,  as  has  been  said  for  more  than  seventy 
years.  Toward  the  end  of  that  period  the  government  em- 
ployed great  packs  of  savage  dogs  and  imported  a  number  of 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  69 


Indians  from  South  America  to  harry  and  hunt  down  the 
Maroons. 

In  1738  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  by  Governor  Sir 
William  Trelawney  and  the  Maroon  chiefs,  Cudjoe,  Quaco, 
Accompong,  and  Cuffee.  By  the  terms  of  this  treaty  the 
Maroons  were  given  their  freedom  and  were  to  be  paid  thirty 
shillings  for  each  runaway  slave  returned  to  the  colonists.  So 
much  anxiety  had  the  Maroons  caused  the  planters  that  an 
English  statesman  advised  that  they  be  "  settled  near  some 
large  town  in  the  lowlands  where  they  would  have  easy  access 
to  alcohol,  the  use  of  which  would  decrease  their  numbers  and 
destroy  the  hardy  constitutions  gained  in  the  mountains." 
What  a  temperance  lesson  should  this  suggestion  teach  us! 

From  the  signing  of  the  treaty  for  nearly  sixty  years  the 
Maroons  lived  peaceably  with  the  English,  but  in  1795  they 
revolted  and  nearly  succeeded  in  inducing  the  slaves  to  join 
them.  The  rebellion  was  put  down  in  a  few  months,  and 
"  those  who  gave  themselves  up  before  January  1,  1796,  were 
allowed  to  remain  in  Jamaica,  and  from  them  are  descended 
the  Maroons  of  today  settled  at  Moore  Town,  Trelawney  Town 
and  at  various  places  in  their  old  haunts  round  the  Cockpit 
country."  Nearly  six  hundred  of  those  who  delayed  to  sur- 
render were  deported  to  Nova  Scotia  and  it  was  of  them  you 
have  read  in  the  story  of  Sierra  Leone. 

Besides  the  Maroons  there  were  in  Jamaica  many  thousands 
of  Negroes  who  were  held  in  slavery,  and  from  time  to  time 
several  uprisings  occurred  among  them.  Writing  of  them  in 
1735  an  Englishman  says:  "We  who  buy  slaves  say  we 
confer  a  good,  removing  them  to  a  better  state  both  temporal 
and  spiritual,  the  latter,  few  among  us  have  the  hypocrisy  to 
own;  to  remove  Negroes  from  their  homes  and  friends,  where 
they  are  at  ease,  to  a  strange  country,  people  and  language  must 
be  highly  offending  against  the  laws  of  natural  justice  and 
humanity,  especially  when  this  change  is  to  hard  labor,  cor- 
poral punishment  and  for  masters  they  wish  dead.  We  are 
accessories  by  trade  to  all  that  cruelty  to  their  countrymen, 


70  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


which  has  subjected  them  to  the  condition  of  slaves  little  better 
in  our  plantations  than  that  of  cattle.  The  rigour  of  their 
usage  having  made  some  hundreds  of  them  at  Jamaica  run 
away  into  barren  mountains  where  they  choose  to  trust  to 
Providence  rather  than  to  their  fellow  Christians  in  the  plan- 
tations." 

But  the  wickedness  and  cruelty  of  slavery  came  to  an  end 
in  Jamaca  in  1834  and  the  Negroes  were  allowed  to  fit  them- 
selves to  freedom  as  best  they  could.  That  this  was  not  an  easy 
thing  to  do  at  first,  you  will  readily  understand.  They  suffered 
injustice  and  discrimination  and  there  was  much  unrest  and 
dissatisfaction. 

What  has  been  called  the  Morant  Bay  Rebellion  was  the 
outcome  of  years  of  oppression  and  injustice.  The  "  Rebel- 
lion "  began  on  October  12,  18G5  and  lasted  but  two  or  three 
days,  the  Negroes  and  the  whites  killing  each  other  and  burn- 
ing each  ether's  homes.  There  were  eighteen  killed  in  all  and 
about  thirty -one  wounded.  The  whole  island  was  in  a  state  of 
panic  and  martial  law  was  proclaimd.  Hundreds  of  innocent 
Negroes  were  put  to  death  and  thousands  made  homeless.  The 
chief  victim  of  the  "  Rebellion  "  was  the  Hon.  George  William 
Gordon,  a  well-educated  Negro  of  property  and  influence.  He 
had  held  several  pubic  offices,  but  was  disliked  by  the  governor. 
The  latter  accused  him  of  inciting  the  Negroes  to  riot,  and 
though  time  has  proven  him  to  have  been  innocent,  he  was 
hung  just  eleven  days  after  the  beginning  of  the  riot. 

"  As  early  as  1850  the  Negroes  of  Jamaica  had  made  prog- 
ress ;  at  the  time  of  emancipation  there  were  practically  no 
Negro  land  owners,  but  in  sixteen  years  they  were  worth  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  At  that  time  there  was  no  distinc- 
tion between  white  and  colored ;  people  were  rated  by  culture 
and  wealth,  though  Negroes  were  on  a  much  higher  footing 
than  Jews,  or  ex-shopkeepers.  The  Negroes  furnished  two 
regiments  of  soldiers  and  almost  the  entire  police  force  of  the 
island  was  colored.     The  public  printers,  Messrs.  Jordan  and 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  7* 


Osborn  were  colored,  and  likewise  the  editors  of  the  Kingston 
Journal,  the  government  paper. 

"  The  famous  West  India  Regiments  grew,  in  1795,  out  of 
a  local  militia  corps  called  the  St.  Vincent  Rangers.  All  the 
twelve  regiments  took  part  with  the  navy  in  the  capture  of  the 
French,  Dutch  and  Danish  possessions  in  America.  After  the 
Napoleonic  wars  were  over,  the  West  India  Regiments  (one  or 
more  of  which  had  been  qualified  as  '  Royal,'  so  that  their 
direct  descendant  of  today  has  royal  emblems  in  its  insignia), 
were  reduced  and  reorganized.  After  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  the  30's,  they  became  more  especially  a  body  of  Negro 
troops,  only  the  officers  of  which  were  white,  and  included 
many  Barbadians  in  their  midst.  Two  Regiments  (now  two 
battalions  of  the  West  India  Regiment)  were  stationed  at 
Freetown,  Sierra  Leone,  and  from  1850  onwards  they  fought 
n  any  battles  for  the  British  government  on  the  Gambia  river 
in  the  interior  of  Sierra  Leone  and  in  Ashanti.  At  the  present 
day  the  First  Battalion  is  stationed  in  Jamaica  and  the  Second 
Battalion  in  Sierra  Leone.  The  total  strength  of  the  two 
battalions  is  about  eleven  hundred." 

"  Their  present  uniform,  so  p'cturesque,  yet  business-like, 
and  so  attractive  to  recruits,  was  practically  the  invention  of 
Queen  Victoria.  It  was  introduced  in  1858.  These  remark- 
able Negro  soldiers  could,  if  necessary,  play  a  considerable 
part  in  maintaining  the  Brit'sh  position  in  tropical  America, 
if  it  were  ever  menaced." 

At  this  time  (1911  )  the  Negroes  of  Jamaica  are  very  pro- 
gressive, they  have  perfect  political  and  social  freedom,  the 
educational  advantages  are  many  and  the  standard  high  —  the 
Cambridge  (England)  examinations  having  been  held  annually 
for  forty  years.  Negroes,  besides  tilling  the  soil,  fill  nine- 
tenths  of  the  positions  under  the  government,  while  many  earn 
a  living  as  doctors,  dentists,  preachers,  teachers,  lawyers,  mu- 
sicians, clerks,  waiters,  trades  nen,  skilled  artisans,  postal  em- 
ployees, press  reporters  and  many  other  positions  of  honor 
and  trust. 


72  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


BERMUDA. 

The  Bermudas  or  Somers  Islands  consists  of  a  number  of 
islands  (said  to  number  over  three  hundred)  covering  in  all 
about  twelve  thousand  acres  of  land.  The  group  is  a  British 
possession,  and  in  modern  times  its  great  value  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  naval  station  and  coaling  depot  for  English  ships. 
Bermuda  was  first  discovered  in  1522  by  a  Spaniard  who 
merely  sighted  and  named  them  but  did  not  land.  Not  long 
after,  Henry  May,  an  Englishman,  was  shipwrecked  on  one 
of  the  largest  of  the  group.  The  story  goes  that  he  built,  with 
the  aid  of  materials  gathered  from  the  wreck  of  his  own  ship, 
a  vessel  of  the  cedar  wood  with  which  the  island  abounds,  and 
returned  to  England.  He  published  an  account  of  his  adven- 
tures and  of  the  island,  then  entirely  uninhabited. 

In  1(509,  Sir  George  Somers  and  others  were  also  ship- 
wrecked upon  the  islands,  while  on  their  way  to  Virginia.  It 
is  said  that  they,  too,  built  a  vessel  and  finally  reached  their 
destination.    There  are  no  springs  of  fresh  water  in  the  island. 

It  is  said  that  Negro  slaves  were  probably  landed  here  in 
1(120  and  that  in  ten  years  there  were  several  hundreds  of 
them  in  Bermuda.  Beginning  with  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  and  running  through  a  period  of  more  than 
one  hundred  years,  the  colored  people  joined  their  masters  in 
seafaring  and  became  a  "fine,  bold  race  of  seamen."  "They 
built  sailing  ships  of  from  two  to  three  hundred  tons  from  the 
timber  of  the  Bermuda  "  cedar  "(a  red  juniper),  and  in  these 
vessels  brought  the  fish  from  the  Newfoundland  Banks  to  the 
coasts  of  Portugal  and  the  Mediterranean,  or  waited  at  the 
islands  of  Madiera,  Ascension  or  St.  Helena  for  the  returning 
Indiamen,  from  whom  they  obtained  cargoes  of  tea,  spices, 
porcelain,  silks  and  other  wares  of  the  Far  East.  They  carried 
back  port  wine  to  Newfoundland,  and  Madeira  wine  to  New 
England  and  the  Carolinas ;  and  distributed  all  along  the  east- 
ern seaboard  of  North  America  the  products  of  the  East 
Indian  trade." 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  73 


The  House  of  Assembly,  for  which  Negroes  and  Mulat- 
toes  may  now  elect  members  and  in  which,  if  elected,  they 
themselves  may  sit,  dates  almost  from  1G20.  Certainly  from 
1684,  in  which  year  the  Bermudas  became  a  colony  directly 
governed  by  the  Crown.  There  is  a  garrison  of  five  or  six 
thousand  soldiers  and  seamen  and  besides  these,  there  are 
about  1 ,320  electors  out  of  a  population  of  nineteen  thousand ; 
and  there  are  no  discriminations  whatever  on  account  of  race 
or  color. 

The  climate  of  the  Bermudas  is  most  delightful  and  it  is 
becoming  quite  a  winter  resort  for  persons  from  the  United 
States.  It  is  said  that  there  is  hardly  a  more  beautiful  sight  in 
the  floral  kingdom  than  a  field  of  Bermuda  lilies  in  bloom. 


74 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


H 


CHAPTER  X. 

SLAVERY. 

AVE  you  ever  owned  a  kitten  or  any  other  living  crea- 
ture? Was  it  your  very,  very  own,  tc  treat  just  as  you 
pleased;5     If  you  are  a  sweet-tempered  child  you  have 


ANCIENT   SLAVERY. 

always  been  kind  to  Kittie,  you  have  always  seen  to  it  that  she 
ha^  been  well  fed  and  comfortable ;  no  doubt  you  have  often 
kept  her  in  when  she  would  have  liked  to  be  free  to 
come  and  go,  and  you  may  have  given  her  meat  to 
eat  when  she  wanted  fish  or  milk.  But  because  Kit- 
tic  was  not  a  human  being  she  may  have  (we  cannot 
tell)  considered  you  a  good  owner  and  made  herself  satisfied 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  75 


If  you  are  a  cruel  child  with  a  bad  temper,  Kittie  has  had  a 
hard  time;  you  have  kicked,  pinched,  beaten,  maybe  half 
starved  her,  perhaps  even  killed  her ;  you  have  not  cared 
whether  she  was  comfortable  or  not  so  long  as  you  had  her 
to  play  with. 

Tf  you  have  ever  owned  any  living  thing,  you  can  form  some 
idea  of  what  it  meant  to  be  a  slave  owner  and  if  you  will 
quietly  think  for  a  while  you  can  faintly  imagine  what  it  meant 
to  be  a  slave ;  to  talk,  walk,  dress,  eat,  move,  live,  not  as  one 
wanted  or  knew  to  be  best,  but  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  one's 
owner.  I  have  compared  the  state  of  a  slave  with  that  of  your 
kitten  because  nearly  every  child  has  owned  a  kitten,  but  the 
comparison  is  a  feeble  one  and  as  you  come  to  understand 
more  about  slavery,  I  want  you  to  think  out  for  yourself  a 
more  just  comparison.  Of  course,  a  kitten  cannot  talk,  or 
think,  or  plan,  or  hope,  in  other  words,  it  is  not,  as  you  know, 
a  human  being,  but  it  is  weak  and  defenceless,  and  you  have 
had  absolute  power  over  it,  even  the  power  of  life  and  death. 

In  our  talks  we  have  often  mentioned  slavery  and  it  has  al- 
ways been  the  Negro  or  the  Indian  who  was  the  slave.  I 
want  you  to  know  how  old  and  how  evil  a  system  slavery  was, 
how  in  ancient  times  it  covered  the  then  known  world,  and 
how  none  of  the  races  of  the  earth  have  escaped  its  effects. 
Slavery  existed  in  one  f or  n  or  another  since  history  began. 
Those  who  had  the  strength  and  the  power  have  ever  been 
willing  to  compel  the  weaker  to  do  their  bidding  and  not  until 
the  coming  of  Christ  was  there  any  persistent  attempt  either 
to  destroy  slavery  or  to  soften  the  hard  lot  of  the  slave,  but 
strange  to  say,  it  took  hundreds  of  years  before  the  preaching 
of  Christ's  Golden  Rule  and  Gospel  of  Love  was  so  under- 
stood by  Christians  every  where  as  to  cause  them  to  work  with 
energy  and  determination  for  the  freeing  of  ail  slaves. 

The  ancient  Hebrews,  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Persians, 
Chinese,  the  people  of  Indian,  all  held  their  conquered  enemies 
as  slaves.  The  Phoenicians  were  great  slave  traders  and  kid- 
napped people  of  any  and  every  nation,  selling  them  as  slaves. 


76  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


"They  stole  Greeks  and  sold  them,  twelve  centuries  before 
Christ,  and  they  also  sold  stolen  people  to  the  Greeks."  It  is 
said  that  in  every  country  the  condition  of  female  slaves  was 
much  worse  than  that  of  the  males  and  that  they  were  re- 
quired to  do  the  hardest  work  and  were  treated  in  the  harshest 
manner. 

'  The  Greeks  held  many  slaves  and  the  bondsmen  of  Athens 
are  said  to  have  been  much  better  treated  than  those  of  Sparta. 
Since  the  Spartans  were  so  stern  with  their  children,  they 
would  hardly  have  been  tender  with  slaves.  The  slaves  of 
Sparta  were  called  helots ;  they  belonged  to  the  state  and  were 
assigned  to  land  owners,  so  many  to  a  certain  amount  of  land. 
Their  condition  was  very  miserable  and  as  they  increased  in 
numbers  they  grew  very  restless,  finally  uniting  and  marching 
against  Sparta,  which  they  nearly  succeeded  in  taking.  As 
a  usual  thing,  however,  they  were  as  loyal  as  they  possibly 
could  be  and  often  fought  in  the  armies  of  Sparta,  but  they 
received  little  gratitude  from  the  state.  The  masters,  through 
guilty  consciences  perhaps,  were  kept  in  constant  fear  of  tip- 
risings,  and  at  times  would  secretly  give  young  Spartan  men 
permission  to  massacre  the  helots  by  night.  At  one  time  two 
thousand  helots  who  had  valiantly  fought  for  Sparta  were 
slain. 

The  Romans  owned  many  more  slaves  than  the  Greeks  and 
their  numerous  victories  over  other  nations  filled  the  slave 
market  to  over-flowing.  It  is  said  that  at  the  close  of  the  war 
with  Greece  and  the  East  "men  were  sold  for  four  drachmae 
each  or  about  sixty-two  cents  of  our  money,"  and  these  were 
men  of  the  highest  type  of  ancient  civilization.  The  Romans 
seemed  to  prefer  to  humble  the  proudest,  and  men,  who  in 
their  own  country  had  been  slave  owners,  men  who  were  cul- 
tured and  who  had  lived  in  luxury,  were  most  desired  as 
slaves  by  the  Romans.  "All  races  furnished  their  share  of  the 
greatest  population  of  slaves  that  ever  existed  under  one  do- 
minion." The  Roman  conquests  extended  through  Germany 
and  France  and  as  far  north  as  England,  and  many  English- 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  77 


men  were  carried  into  slavery,  and  their  chiefs  chained  to  the 
chariot  wheels  of  the  conquerors. 

"Roman  citizens  who  had  committed  certain  crimes  became 
'slaves  of  punishment ;'  thieves  who  could  not  repay  four  times 
the  value  of  what  they  had  stolen,  became  slaves  to  those 
whom  they  had  robbed ;  children  were  sold  into  slavery  by 
their  parents,  and  poor  debtors  were  sold  as  slaves." 

Many  citizens  owned  a  great  number  of  slaves,  some  as 
many  as  twenty  thousand  each.  "The  price  of  slaves  were  not 
fixed;  good  actors,  doctors,  cooks,  beautiful  women,  handsome 
boys  and  jesters  brought  heavy  sums.  Learned  men,  gram- 
marians, architects,  rhetoricians,  and  gladiators  also  sold  at 
high  prices ;  some  classes  of  artisans  and  laborers  sold  for  up- 
ward of  three  hundred  dollars  of  our  money  each,  but  one 
hundred  dollars  was  a  fair  average  price  for  a  common  slave, 
and  when  a  slave  could  be  bought  for  about  half  that  sum, 
the  price  was  held  to  be  low."  Rome  as  well  as  Greece  ex- 
perienced many  slave  insurrections  and  these  were  usually  led 
by  the  gladiators  or  trained  fighters ;  the  insurrection  of  which 
Spartacus,  the  renowned  gladiator  was  the  leader,  cost  many 
lives  and  would  probably  have  been  successful  had  not  the 
leader  been  slain  early  in  the  conflict. 

You  can  see  that  a  country  in  which  so  many  of  the  inhabi- 
tants were  restless,  discontented  and  miserable  and  where  so 
many  others  were  cruel  tyrants,  could  not  survive.  Slavery 
is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  fall  of 
Rome.  After  the  decline  of  the  Roman  power,  the  peoples 
who  overthrew  the  empire,  established  there  the  feudal  system 
and  serfdom,  another  form  of  slavery. 

The  word  serf  means  a  servant  or  slave,  and  serfdom  ex- 
isted in  nearly  every  country  in  Europe.  By  this  system  the 
whole  mass  of  poor  people  were  just  a  little  better  off  than 
slaves;  they  were  compelled  to  work  the  land  for  the  lords  or 
owners  and  though  they  could  not  be  removed  from  the  land 
and  were  only  bought  or  sold  with  it,  their  condition  was  piti- 


78  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


able  in  the  extreme ;  they  were  housed  and  fed  with  less  care 
than  the  livestock  and  clothed  themselves  as  best  they  could. 

When  the  Christian  nations  of  western  Europe  united  to 
take  back  the  Holy  City  of  Jerusalem  from  the  Turks,  every 
serf  who  enlisted  in  these  wars  (which  were  called  Crusades) 
became  free  to  live  where  and  how  he  pleased  upon  his  re- 
turn home,  and  from  this  time  serfdom  gradually  died  out  in 
most  European  countries ;  Hungary  in  1848  and  Russia  in 
1861,  being  the  last  to  give  it  up.  As  the  general  emancipation 
of  Negro  slaves  in  the  United  States  took  place  in  1865,  Russia 
was  but  a  few  years  ahead  of  this  country  in  freeing  its  bonds- 
men. 

During  the  long  wars  between  the  Turks  and  the  peoples  of 
southern  and  eastern  Europe,  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries,  after  each  encounter,  the  defeated  army  was  sold 
into  slavery ;  each  also  invaded  the  others  territory  and  cap- 
tured women  and  children  for  slaves.  It  was  about  this  time 
that  Negro  slavery  came  into  prominence,  but  white  slavery 
still  continued  in  Turkey  and  the  Barbary  states,  being  carried 
on  by  the  corsairs  or  pirates  until  1816,  when  an  English  fleet 
under  Lord  Exmouth  successfully  bombarded  Algiers. 

You  have  seen  how,  at  some  time  in  their  history,  members 
of  every  great  European  race  have  been  held  in  slavery.  In 
the  early  days  of  this  republic  white  Americans  had,  in  their 
own  persons  a  bitter  taste  of  slavery  in  a  most  humilitating 
form ;  before  this  country  possessed  a  navy,  many  American 
merchant  vessels  were  captured  while  passing  through  the 
Mediterranean,  by  the  Corsairs  of  North  Africa  and  the  of- 
ficers and  seamen  of  these  vessels  were  sold  as  slaves.  In 
order  to  ransom  those  American  citizens  the  United  States 
Government  was  compelled  to  pay  the  sum  of  one  million  dol- 
lars. It  seemed  to  give  the  Dey  or  ruler  of  Algiers  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  insult  and  humiliate  Americans. 

Speaking  of  the  enslavement  of  the  Negro  in  ancient  times 
a  writer  says :  "The  fact  that  the  ancients  regarded  black 
slaves  as  luxuries  proves  that  their  number  could  not  have 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  79 


been  large  in  European  countries  to  which  they  were  taken, 
either  by  the  way  of  Egypt  or  that  of  Carthage.  Such  details 
as  we  have  concerning  the  black  slaves  of  antiquity  all  serve 
to  show  that  they  were  not  numerous,  far  less  so,  indeed,  than 
were  slaves  belonging  to  some  of  the  highest  of  the  white 
races." 

It  is  said  that  with  Admiral  Don  Christopher  Columbus, 
when  he  made  his  first  voyage  of  discovery  in  1492,  was  "Pie- 
tro  Alonzo,  or  Alonzo  the  Negro,  who  piloted  the  Nina,  one  of 
the  three  vessels  under  the  command  of  Columbus."  "Diego 
el  Negro  was  another  Spanish  Negro  who  sailed  with  Colu  n- 
bus  on  his  second  voyage  in  the  capacity  of  cabin  boy.  The 
Negro  pilot,  Pietro  Alonzo  also  made  minor  discoveries  and 
was  the  first  European  Negro  navigator  to  discover  the  Pearl 
Coast,  after  having  purchased  pearls  from  naked  men.  Alonzo 
the  Negro  was  also  a  pilot  on  Columbus'  second  voyage  and 
navigated  the  flagship  on  which  Columbus  himself  sailed. 
After  leaving  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  Columbus  relied  upon 
this  black  man's  knowledge  of  navigation." 

"Alonzo  afterward  became  master  and  captain  of  a  fleet  that 
sailed  from  Cadiz  in  January,  1496,  and  upon  his  return  to 
Spain  from  America,  this  black  navigator  was  given  a  public 
dinner  at  Seville  by  the  Duke  of  Medina,  which  was  attended 
by  the  city  authorities  and  court  officials,  in  recognition  of  his 
achievement  in  opening  up  to  Spain  a  veritable  'gate  of  pearls ;' 
so  that  Negro  brains  aided  in  the  discovery  of  America  on  the 
very  first  voyage  which  Christopher  Columbus  made  to  this 
continent." 

It  is  also  said  that  three  hundred  Negro  porters  and  soldiers 
accompanied  Cortes  on  his  Mexican  expedition  ;  Negroes  car- 
ried the  loads  of  Balboa  on  his  discovery  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 
in  1513,  and  went  with  Hernandez  to  Peru  in  1530.  Negroes 
assisted  as  servants  and  laborers  in  the  founding  of  the  Span- 
ish city  of  St.  Augustine,  in  Florida,  in  1565,  and  were  sailors 
in  the  Spanish  ships  which  explored  the  coasts  of  Virginia  in 


So  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


1521.  A  Spanish  Negro  explorer,  Estevan,  discovered  New 
Mexico,  the  land  of  the  Zuni  Indians,  in  1539. 

In  15(i2,  John  Hawkins,  an  English  sea  captain,  together 
with  a  number  of  other  Englishmen,  asked  permission  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  to  capture  native  Africans  and  sell  them  in 
the  New  World.  The  request  was  granted,  but  the  ships  were 
so  packed  that  a  great  many  died  on  the  voyage.  When  the 
Queen  heard  of  it  she  was  shocked,  and  called  Hawkins  before 
her  to  reprimand  him  and  to  take  away  his  charter ;  but  Sir 
John  grew  very  eloquent  over  the  benefits  of  slavery  to  the 
Negro  and  made  the  Queen  believe  that  to  bring  the  African 
into  contact  with  such  highly  civilized  and  Christian  people 
as  their  new  owners,  was  to  do  God's  service.  So,  instead  of 
scolding,  the  Queen  praised  him,  took  shares  in  his  company 
and  in  1501,  lent  him  one  of  her  ships.  John  Hawkins  was  at 
heart,  you  see,  a  knave  instead  of  a  knight. 

In  the  Mohammedan  countries  there  have  been  black  slaves 
fro  ii  the  time  of  the  prophet,  and  they  often  rise  very  high,  as 
well  in  the  state  as  in  the  household.  But  in  all  these  cases,  the 
Negro  has  but  shared  the  common  lot  and  might  have  been 
sold  on  the  sane  day  with  the  Greek  and  Arab  and  by  the  same 
trader.  The  Negro  was  then  sold,  not  because  he  was  a  Negro, 
but  because  he  was  a  man  whose  services  could  be  turned  to 
profitable  account. 

While,  as  we  have  seen,  Negro  slavery  was  known  in  an- 
tiquity, it  was  left  to  the  New  World  in  general,  and  to  the 
country  which  we  call  our  own,  the  United  States  of  America. 
in  particular,  to  bring  it  to  its  largest  and  worst  development. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO        81 

CHAPTER  XL 
THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  COLONIES. 

PICTURE  to  yourselves,  dear  children,  a  small  group  of 
foreigners  frightened  and  sad,  with  hearts  aching  for 
home  and  for  the  loved  ones  from  whom  they  had  been 
torn,  with  minds  rilled  with  dread  as  to  what  was  about  to 
befall  them ;  picture  them  landed,  half  clad  and  in  chains  in  a 
country  where  the  climate,  the  people,  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms were  all  totally  different  to  anything  they  had  ever  known 
and  you  will  have  a  faint  idea  of  the  feelings  and  the  condition 
of  the  first  group  of  Negroes  who  landed  on  the  continent  of 
North  America. 

Although  authorities  differ  as  to  the  exact  date  of  the  landing 
and  also  as  to  the  exact  number  of  persons  which  made  up 
this  little  group,  we  know  that  about  the  year  1619,  a  small 
number  of  native  Africans  were  landed  in  the  Colony  of 
Virginia  and  that  these  were  the  forerunners  of  countless 
others  who  were  to  be  brought  here  to  take  a  part  as  slaves 
and  freemen  in  the  development  of  this  country. 

The  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  belongs  to  the 
dark  ages  of  the  world's  history,  to  the  time  when  men  had 
not  yet  understood  that  it  is  the  right  of  every  human  creature 
to  be  free  and  that  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  every  man  and 
every  race  to  help  toward  true  freedom  every  other  man  and 
every  other  race.  So  that,  at  this  period  in  North  America, 
we  find  the  Negro  and  the  Indian  enslaved  and  white  men  and 
women  convicted  of  crime  in  Europe  sent  to  the  colonies  as 
bond  servants.  The  latter  were  on  much  the  same  level  as  the 
slaves,  the  great  difference  being  that  slaves  were  bound  for 
life,  while  bond  servants  were  held  for  a  limited  number  of 
years. 

The  story  of  the  Negro  during  the  first  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  his  stay  in  America  has  been  but  briefly  recorded 
and  the  record  shows  little  that  is  bright  and  pleasant.     When 


82  A  NARRATIVE  OP  THE  NEGRO 


the  first  slaves  were  landed  the  colony  of  Virginia  included 
what  shortly  afterward  became  Maryland  and  the  history  of 
the  Negro  in  the  two  colonies  is  much  the  same.  The  raising 
of  tobacco  had  not  yet  become  an  important  industry,  there  was 
no  particular  work  for  the  Negro  to  do  and  for  about  fifty 
years  the  increase  in  the  number  of  slaves  was  but  slight. 
Until  1  <I02  they  were  held  because  they  were  powerless  to  help 
themselves,  and  because  the  whites  found  the  holding  of 
slaves  an  easy  and  profitable  thing,  but  no  laws  had  been  parsed 
concerning  slavery  in  the  Colony  of  Virginia.  The  law- passed 
in  166.2  concerned  the  children  and  provided  that  the  children 
of  slave  mothers  should  be  slaves,  but  eight  years  later  the 
following  act  was  passed :  "  It  is  resolved  and  enacted  that,  all 
servants  not  being  Christians,  imported  into  this  country  by 
shipping  shall  be  slaves  for  their  .lives ;  but  those  who  come 
by  land  shall  serve,  if  boys  or  girls,  until  thirty  years  of  age, 
if  men  or  women  twelve  years  and  no  longer."  Those  coming 
by  water  were  Negroes  and  those  by  land  were  Indians.  On 
this  point  one  writer  says:  "No  doubt  the  Indian  was  as 
thoroughly  despised  as  the  Negro ;  but  the  Indian  was  on  his 
native  soil  and  therefore  was  a  more  dangerous  subject." 
From  this  time  on  several  acts  were  passed  concerning  slavery, 
but  most  of  them  were  designed  to  make  the  lot  of  the  slave 
harder  and  more  hopeless. 

In  the  colony  of  New  Netherlands,  which  as  you  know,  was 
governed  by  the  Dutch,  Negro  slaves  were  much  prized.  Here, 
as  in  the  other  colonies,  a  large  amount  of  labor  was  necessary 
to  make  the  country  habitable,  and  it  was  the  Negro  who  did 
this  heavy  work,  and  without  whom  this  whole  U.  S.  would 
doubtless  have  been  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  be- 
hind its  present  state  of  development. 

The  Dutch  brought  their  slaves  from  the  coast  of  Guinea 
and  from  their  possessions  in  Brazil  and  employed  them  as 
farmers,  as  roadmakers  and  as  house  servants.  "  The  jolly 
Dutch  fed  and  clothed  their  slaves  as  well  as  their  white  serv- 
ants.   There  were  no  severe  rules  to  strip  the  Negroes  of  social 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  S3 


amusements  or  public  feasts.  They  were  married  and  given 
in  marriage,  and  if  there  were  no  schools  for  them  there  were 
no  laws  against  their  acquirement  of  knowledge."  Many 
bought  or  were  given  their  freedom.  This  is  said  to  be  very 
different  to  the  treatment  of  the  natives  of  South  Africa  by 
the  Dutch  of  modern  times. 

When,  in  1664,  the  English  took  possession  of  New  Neth- 
erlands (naming  it  New  York),  the  condition  of  the  slaves  was 
not  changed  for  the  better.  Severe  laws  were  passed  putting 
the  slaves  on  a  plane  very  much  worse  than  that  which  they 
had  occupied  under  Dutch  rule.  The  English  pretended  to 
be  anxious  to  convert  the  slaves  to  Christianity,  but  they  has- 
tened to  assure  the  owners  that  no  slave  could. become  free  by 
professing  a  belief  in  Christianity. 

"  In  1709  a  slave  market  was  erected  at  the  foot  of  Wall 
street  and  here  Negroes  and  Indians,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, all  as  sheep  in  the  shambles,  were  daily  declared  the 
property  of  the  highest  cash  bidder."  "By  law  free  Negroes 
were  prevented  from  holding  property  and  there  was  therefore, 
but  little  hope  for  the  Negro  in  either  state  —  bondage  or 
freedom.  There  was  little  in  this  world  to  allure  him,  to 
encourage  him,  to  help  him.  The  institution  under  which  he 
suffered  was  one  huge  sepulchre  and  he  was  buried  alive." 

The  most  stirring  event  in  the  history  of  slavery  in  the 
colony  of  New  York  was  the  so-called  Negro  plot,  of  17-11. 
Some  time  before  this  the  Negroes  had  risen,  burned  a  house 
and  killed  some  of  the  whites ;  but  the  troops  had  been  called 
and  the  riot  quelled.  A  feeling  of  insecurity,  however,  took 
possession  of  the  colonists  and  when  in  May,  1711,  the  charge 
was  made  that  a  number  of  Negroes  and  a  few  whites  had 
plotted  to  kill  the  residents  of  New  York  city  and  burn  down 
their  homes,  the  people  became  insane  with  fear  and  unable  to 
reason. 

Innocent  men  and  women  were  accused  and  cast  into  prison ; 
false  witnesses  arose  on  every  hand ;  the  accused,  hoping  to 
clear  themselves,  mack'  charges  against  others  and  every  one 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


was  at  the  mercy  of  any  enemy  he  might  have.  "  From  the 
11th  of  May  to  the  29th  of  August,  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
four  Negroes  were  cast  into  prison,  fourteen  of  whom  were 
burnt,  eighteen  hanged,  seventy-eight  transported  and  the 
remainder  pardoned.  During  the  same  space  of  time  twenty- 
four  whites  were  committed  to  prison,  four  of  whom  were 
executed  and  the  remainder  discharged."  This  period  has 
been  likened  to  the  time  when  so  many  innocent  persons  were 
burnt  as  witches,  at  Salem,  Mass. 

In  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  the  Pequod  Indians  were 
the  first  slaves,  but  as  they  "  would  not  endure  the  yoke,"  they 
were  sent  to  the  Bermudas  and  exchanged  for  Negroes  in  the 
hope  that  the  latter  would  bear  slavery  more  patiently.  "The 
first  exchange  of  Indians  for  Negroes  was  made  in  1637,  the 
first  year  of  the  Pequod  war  and  was  doubtless  kept  up  for 
many  years."  As  in  Virginia,  slavery  here  was  at  first  of  slow 
growth,  but  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  the 
institution  grew  rapidly.  Slavery  bred  in  this  colony,  as  else- 
where a  disregard  for  human  feelings  in  dealing  with  the 
Negro  and  "  Negro  children  were  considered  incumbrances, 
and  when  weaned  were  often  given  away  like  puppies."  But 
while  these  and  many  other  hardships  were  imposed  upon  the 
slaves  the  general  tenor  of  public  feeling  was  more  humane 
than  in  colonies  farther  south.  So  that  when  a  ship  from 
Boston  raided  a  native  town  on  the  Guinea  coast  and  brought 
home  the  captives  as  slaves,  the  people  protested  and  the  kid- 
napped Africans  were  ordered  to  be  returned  to  their  own 
country. 

The  question  of  slavery,  pro  and  con,  was  always  being  dis- 
cussed in  this  colony  and  in  May,  1760,  the  representatives  of 
the  people  were  instructed  to  vote  for  the  total  abolition  of 
slavery ;  but  the  measure  was  not  passed. 

In  an  address  on  slavery  published  in  1769  the  author  says: 
"  What !  cries  our  good  people  here,  Negro  slaves  in  Bos- 
tion?  It  cannot  be.  It  is  nevertheless  true.  For  though  the 
Bostonians  have  grounded  their  rebellion  on  the  'immutable 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  85 


laws  of  nature'  yet,  notwithstanding  their  resolves  about  free- 
dom in  their  town  meetings,  they  actually  have  in  town  two 
thousand  negro  slaves." 

The  slaves,  however,  understood  what  was  going  on  around 
them,  the  undying  longing  for  freedom  within  their  own 
breasts  was  increased  and  strengthened  by  the  conversations 
which  they  overheard  and  by  the  speeches  which  some  heard 
and  repeated  to  others ;  there  were  also  a  few  slaves  who  had 
managed  to  obtain  some  little  education,  of  which  they  made 
the  very  most.  Being  thus  moved  by  the  spirit  of  liberty  it  was 
but  natural  that  they  became  restless  and  sullen  in  their  bonds 
and  their  manner  caused  fear  among  the  whites,  some  of  whom 
began  to  charge  every  fire  or  other  untoward  happening  to  the 
Negroes. 

But  white  friends  came  forward  to  plead  the  cause  of  the 
Negro  slave  and  many  efforts  were  made  to  enact  laws  in  his 
behalf.  Encouraged,  doubtless  by  the  friendly  attitude  of  the 
best  whites,  many  slaves  sued  their  owners  for  their  liberty, 
charging  that  they  were  unlawfully  held  in  bondage,  and  in 
several  instances  their  petition  was  granted  by  the  courts  of 
Massachusetts.  On  June  25,  1773,  a  petition,  signed  by  Felix 
Holbrook  and  other  Negroes,  was  read  before  the  House  of 
Representatives,  "  praying  that  they  may  be  liberated  from  a 
state  of  bondage  and  made  freemen  of  this  community;  and 
that  this  court  would  give  and  grant  to  them  some  part  of  the 
unimproved  lands  belonging  to  the  province,  for  a  settlement; 
or  relieve  them  in  such  other  way  as  shall  seem  good  and  wise 
upon  the  whole."  This  petition,  which  had  been  laid  aside  was 
read  again  before  the  house  in  January,  1771.  The  committee 
which  was  appointed  to  consider  it  presented,  instead,  "  a  bill 
to  prevent  the  importation  of  Negroes  and  others  as  slaves  into 
this  province."  This  bill  with  additions  was  read  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  read  in  the  Council  and  sent  to  Governor 
Hutchinson,  who  refused  to  sign  it.  It  was  then  read  before 
the  general  court,  sent  again  to  the  Council  but  finally  failed  to 
become  a  law. 


86  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


In  the  colon)*  of  Rhode  Island  there  was,  almost  from  the 
beginning  a  strong  feeling  against  slavery  and  !aws  were  passed 
against  it,  but  neither  the  sentiment  nor  the  law  was  strong 
enough  to  prevent  the  holding  of  slaves  in  this  colony.  But 
here  the  Negro  had  many  white  friends  especially  among  those 
known  as  Quakers ;  these  friends  did  all  they  could  to  lighten 
the  lives  of  the  oppressed,  but  their  kindness  angered  the  slave 
owners.  Laws  were  passed  to  tine  those  who  entertained 
slaves  and  to  whip  them  if  they  could  not  pa1  the  fine.  As  in 
nearly  every  other  slave-holding  colony  laws  were  passed  for- 
bidding Indians  as  well  as  free  Negroes  to  assemble  at  night 
or  to  walk  the  streets  after  nine  o'clock  without  a  pass  or  a 
lawful  excuse. 

The  many  vessels  which  entered  the  ports  of  New  England 
and  of  Rhode  Island  especially,  opened  up  a  path  to  liberty 
which  the  slaves  were  not  slow  to  take;  they  were  constantly 
running  away  and  shipping  on  these  vessels.  The  officers 
encouraged  this,  for  they  made  splendid  seamen,  but  the  loss 
to  the  owners  was  so  great  that  a  law  was  passed  forbidding 
the  masters  of  vessels  to  ship  them.  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire had  always  the  smallest  number  of  slaves. 

The  Quakers,  or  Friends,  did  much  to  help  the  slaves  in 
Pennsylvania.  "  The  first  recorded  protest  of  an  American 
against  slavery  was*  written  in  1 688  by  a  Quaker,  Francis 
Daniel  Pastorius,  adopted  by  the  Germantown  Friends  and  by 
them  sent  up  to  the  monthly  meeting  at  Philadelphia.  Speak- 
ing of  the  slaves,  Pastoria  asks,  'Have  not  these  Negroes  as 
much  right  to  fight  for  their  freedom  as  you  have  to  keep  them 
slaves?'     He  believed  the  time  would  come — 

'When  from  the  gallery  to  the  farthest  seat, 
Slave  and  slave-owner  should  no  longer  meet, 
But  all  sit  equal  at  the  master's  feet.'  " 

In  the  colonies  of  Maryland,  Delaware  and  Connecticut, 
conditions  were  much  the  same  as  those  recited  above.  The 
colony  of  New  Jersey  was  the  only  one  in  which  the  Negro 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  S7 


was  tried  by  jury,  the  law  also  requiring  the  presence  of  three 
justices  of  the  peace,  though  in  Pennsylvania  2  negro  charged 
with  murder  must  be  tried  before  six  freeholders  and  two 
justices  of  the  peace.  Other  humane  laws  were  passed,  but 
when  New  Jersey  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  these 
laws  were  not  regarded. 

Slavery  was  encouraged  in  the  Carolinas  from  the  very 
beginning,  but  in  1690  an  act  more  positive  than  any  passed  by 
the  other  colonies  legalized  salvery.  A  part  of  the  act  reads : 
"It  shall  be  always  presu  ned  that  every  Negro,  Indian. 
Mulatto  and  Mustizo  is  a  slave  unless  the  contrary  can  be  made 
to  appear,  the  Indians  in  amity  with  this  government  excepted. 
*  *  *  Providing  also,  that  nothing  in  this  shall  be  construed 
to  hinder  or  restrain  any  other  court  of  law  or  equity  in  this 
province,  from  determining  the  property  of  sla/es  or  their  right 
of  freedom."  Until  1782  Georgia  was  included  in  the  Carolinas. 

liecause  of  the  rice  industry,  the  number  oi  slaves  increased 
rapidly  but  their  lot  was  an  exceedingly  hard  one.  "  They 
were  not  allowed  to  go  to  other  plantations  on  Sundays,  fast 
days  or  holy  days,  even  though  they  had  written  passes ;  they 
were  not  allowed  to  hire  or  buy  a  house  or  plantation ;  they 
could  not  own  a  horse,  a  boat  or  cattle."  These  oppressive 
lavs  became  unbearable  and  many  slaves  ran  away ;  those  who 
were  caught  were  beaten,  branded  with  hot  irons,  suffered 
other  cruel  punishments  and  often  were  bartarously  killed. 

In  most  of  the  colonies  in  the  early  days  education  was  neg- 
lected, the  whites  themselves  as  a  rule  having  but  little  learning. 
In  1670,  the  government  in  England  requested  an  account  of 
education  in  the  colony  of  Virginia  and  in  his  reply  the  gover- 
nor. Sir  William  Berkeley,  said:  "  I  thank  God  there  are  no 
free  schools  nor  printing  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  have  these 
hundred  years;  for  learning  has  brought  disobedience  and 
heresy  and  sects  into  the  world,-  and  printing  has  divulged 
them,  and  libels  against  the  best  government.  God  keep  us 
from  both."  You  see,  that  though  an  English  peer  and  a 
college-bred  man  the  governor  was  really  very  ignorant  as  he 


88  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


had  not  the  first  idea  of  the  true  value  of  a  sound  education. 
But  an  earnest  desire  for  knowledge  has  always  been  character- 
istic of  the  Negro  and  the  slaves  in  the  colonies  showed  them- 
selves so  eager  to  learn  and  it  so  often  happened  that  white 
friends  were  willing  to  teach  them  that  in  nearly  every  prov- 
ince, laws  were  passed  forbidding  any  one  to  teach  them  even 
to  read  or  write. 

There  is  one  thing  which  you  must  remember,  dear  children, 
that  is  that  always,  always  in  every  country,  the  Negro  has  had 
staunch,  true,  courageous  white  friends,  will  always  have  them, 
nor  can  we  do  without  them.  There  will  ever  be  a  larger  or  a 
smaller  number  who  will  firmly  stand  for  righteousness,  justice 
and  truth.  So  let  us  ever  appreciate,  honor  and  be  worthy  of 
all  our  friends. 

Throughout  the  colonies  there  were  a  number  of  slaves  who 
had.  in  one  way  or  another,  gained  freedom ;  in  some  cases 
they  were  set  free  by  their  masters,  in  others  by  making  every 
spare  moment  count  and  often  by  working  all  night,  they  had 
earned  enough  money  to  buy  themselves ;  sometimes  their  own- 
ers, dying,  would  leave  them  free.  But  freed  Negroes  were 
feared  and  distrusted  by  the  whites  and  despised  by  the  slaves, 
and  many  laws  which  worked  to  their  discomfort  were  passed. 
In  some  colonies  it  became  quite  customary  to  free  a  slave  or 
let  him  buy  himself  for  a  small  sum  when  old  age  or  ill  health 
caused  him  to  be  no  longer  useful  to  his  master.  But  you  can 
see  that  such  a  practice  was  almost  as  cruel  as  slavery. 

In  the  ancient  cemetery  at  Concord,  Mass.,  is  the  grave  of  a 
slave,  born  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  over 
which  is  a  headstone  bearing  the  following: 

"  God  wills  us  free,  man  wills  us  slaves. 
I  will  as  God  wills,  God's  will  be  done. 
Here  lies  the  body  of 
John  Jack 
A  native  of  Africa,  who  died 
March,  1773,  aged  about  sixty  years. 
Tho  born  in  a  land  of  slavery,  he  was  boi  n  free, 


A  NARRATIVE  OP  THE  NEGRO  89 


Tho  he  lived  in  a  land  of  liberty  he  lived  a  slave, 

Till  by  his  honest  though  stolen  labors 

He  acquired  the  source  of  slavery 

Which  gave  him  his  freedom; 

Thp  not  long  before 

Death  the  grand  tyrant 

Gave  him  his  final  emancipation 

And  set  him  on  a  footing  with  kings. 

Tho  a  slave  to  Vice  (the  vicious) 

He  practiced  those  virtues 

Without  which  kings  are  but  slaves." 


■  ! 


. 


9° 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


T 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  DAWNING  LIGHT. 

HE  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  notable  as 
showing  the  first  unmistakable  signs  of  the  remarkable 
fitness  of  the  Negro  for  modern  civilization ;  during  this 


PHILLIS  WHEATLEY. 

period  also,  began  in  England  and  America  the  organized  per- 
sistent efforts  of  the  friends  of  the  slave  who  were  usually 
called  Abolitionists.  During  this  time  the  colonies  fought  with 
England  and  became  free  and  independent  states,  and  in  this 
war  of  the  Revolution  the  Negro  played,  as  we  shall  later  see, 
a  noble  part. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  9r 


You  have  heard  that  several  slaves  in  Massachusetts  en- 
tered suit  for  liberty  against  their  masters.  It  was  a  woman 
who  began  it,  Jenny  Slew  of  Ipswich,  Essex  County,  who  sued 
the  man  who  claimed  to  own  her  in  September,  1775.  The 
case  was  at  first  decided  against  her,  but  she  appealed  to  the 
Superior  Court  and  won  her  freedom  and  four  pounds,  Eng- 
lish money,  besides.  Think  what  a  brave,  determined  woman 
Jenny  Slew  must  have  been !  Following  that,  many  slaves  ob- 
tained freedom  in  like  manner.  After  the  colonies  declared 
themselves  independent,  Massachusetts  adopted  a  constitution 
in  1780,  and  again  a  woman,  Elizabeth  Freeman,  led  in  suing 
for  liberty  under  the  new  constitution.  Mr.  Sedgwick,  who 
afterward  became  a  United  States  senator,  pleaded  Elizabeth's 
case  and  won  it,  and  this  is  said  to  have  been  the  death  blow 
of  slavery  in  that  colony.  When  the  census  of  IT'.iO  was  taken 
there  were  no  slaves  in  Massachusetts. 

Before  that  time  the   Negroes    of    Massachusetts  had  ad- 
dressed two  strong  and  able  petitions  to  the  legislature,  the 
first  of  which  is  as  follows: 
To  His  Excellency,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  Esq.,  Governor: 

"To  the  Honorable,  His  Majesty's  Council,  and  to  the  Hon- 
orable House  of  Representatives  in  general  court  assembled 
at  Boston,  the  oth  day  of  January,  1773: 

The  humble  petition  of  many  slaves  living  in  the  town  of 
Boston  and  other  towns  in  this  province,  is  this  namely — 

That  Your  Excellency  and  Honors,  and  the  Honorable  the 
Representatives,  would  be  pleased  to  take  their  unhappy  state 
and  condition  under  your  wise  and  just  consideration. 

We  desire  to  bless  God,  who  loves  mankind,  who  sent  His 
Son  to  die  for  their  salvation,  and  who  is  no  respecter  of  per- 
sons, that  he  hath  lately  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  multitudes, 
on  both  sides  of  the  water,  to  bear  our  burthens,  some  of  whom 
are  men  of  great  note  and  influence,  who  have  pleaded  our 
cause  with  arguments,  which  we  hope  will  have  their  weight 
with  this  Honorable  Court. 


92  AINARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


We  presume  not  to  dictate  to  your  Excellency  and  Honors, 
being  willing  to  rest  our  cause  on  your  humanity  and  justice, 
yet  would  beg  leave  to  say  a  word  or  two  on  the  subject. 

Although  some  of  the  Negroes  are  vicious  (who  doubtless 
may  be  punished, and  restrained  by  the  same  laws  which  are  in 
force  against  others  of  the  king's  subjects)  there  are  many 
others  of  quite  a  different  character,  and  who,  if  made  free, 
would  soon  be  able,  as  well  as  willing,  to  bear  a  part  in  the 
public  charges.  Many  of  them  of  good  natural  parts  are  dis- 
creet, sober,  honest  and  industrious ;  and  may  it  not  be  said 
of  them  that  they  are  virtuous  and  religious,  although  their 
condition  is,  in  itself,  so  unfriendly  to  religion  and  every  moral 
virtue,  except  patience.  How  many  of  that  number  have  there 
been  and  now  are  in  this  province,  who  had  every  day  of  their 
lives  embittered  with  this  most  intolerable  reflection,  that,  let 
their  behavior  be  what  it  will,  neither  they  nor  their  children, 
to  all  generations,  shall  ever  be  able  to  do  or  to  possess  and 
enjoy  anything — no,  not  even  life  itself,  but  in  a  manner  as  the 
beasts  that  perish. 

We  have  no  property !  We  have  no  wives !  We  have  no 
children !  We  have  no  city !  No  country !  But  we  have  a 
Father  in  heaven,  and  we  are  determined,  as  far  as  His  grace 
shall  enable  us,  and  as  far  as  our  degraded  condition  and  con- 
temptuous life  will  admit,  to  keep  all  his  commandments;  es- 
pecially will  we  be  obedient  to  our  masters,  so  long  as  God,  in 
His  sovereign  Providence,  shall  suffer  us  to  be  holden  in 
bondage. 

It  would  be  impudent,  if  not  presumptuous,  in  us  to  suggest 
to  your  Excellency  and  Honors,  any  law  or  laws  proper  to 
be  made  in  relation  to  our  unhappy  state,  which  although  our 
greatest  unhappiness  is  not  our  fault ;  and  this  gives  us  great 
encouragement  to  pray  and  hope  for  such  relief  as  is  consist- 
ent with  your  wisdom,  justice  and  goodness. 

We  think  ourselves  very  happy,  that  we  may  thus  address 
the  great  and  general  court  of  this  province,  which  great  and 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  93 


good  court  is  to  us  the  best  judge  under  God  of  what  is  wise, 
just  and  good. 

We  humbly  beg  leave  to  add  but  this  one  thing  more:  we 
pray  for  such  relief  only,  which  by  no  possibility  can  ever  be 
productive  of  the  least  wrong  or  injury  to  our  masters,  but  to 
us  will  be  as  life  from  the  dead." 

A  later  petition  is  signed  by  Lancaster  Hill,  Brister  Slenfen, 
Peter  Bess,  Prince  Hall,  Jack  Pierpont,  Nero  Funelo  and  New- 
port Sumner.  As  the  last  three  are  recorded  as  making  "their 
mark,"  the  others  were  evidently  able  to  write. 

Prince  Hall  became  famous  as  the  founder  of  Freemasonry 
among  the  Negroes  of  America.  Born  in  Barnadoes,  West 
Indies,  in  1748,  he  went,  a  youth  of  seventeen,  to  Boston  and 
entered  at  once  into  the  life  of  the  community.  He  quickly 
learned  to  read  and  write  and  by  the  time  he  was  twenty-five 
was  a  taxpayer  and  a  voter. 

In  1775  he  applied  for  admission,  and  was  initiated,  into 
British  Army  Lodge,  No.  58,  and  having  induced  fifteen  other 
colored  men  to  become  initiated  in  the  same  lodge,  Hall  set  up 
with  these  men  the  African  Lodge,  Number  459. 

Speaking  of  Hall,  a  writer  says:  "He  knew  that  virtue,  tem- 
perance, charity,  education,  justice,  honor  and  truth  are  neces- 
sary to  make  good  citizens,  which  are  the  glory  of  any  commu- 
nity. Prince  Hall's  foresight  led  him  to  believe  that  his  race 
in  North  America,  through  the  providence  of  God,  would  live 
as  one  people,  free  and  untrammelled,  as  to  education  and 
rights  of  citizenship.  He  li\ed  to  see  the  doors  of  school- 
houses  opened  to  colored  people  in  1796  in  Massachusetts." 

Until  his  death,  in  1807,  Hall  was  a  leader  among  his  peo- 
ple, and  composed  several  petitions  to  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives. As  a  preacher  he  was  noted  for  his  eloquence  and  his 
deep  religious  feeling. 

The  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  also  found  the 
Negro  with  an  acknowledged  leader  in  the  field  of  literature, 
and  this  leader  was  a  woman — Phillis  Wheatlev.    When  but  a 


94  A|NARRATIVE  OP  THE  NEGRO 


frail  little  girl,  eight  years  of  age,  she  was  taken  from  home 
and  friends  in  Africa  and  brought  to  this  country ;  wrapped  in 
a  piece  of  soiled  carpet  she  stood  in  the  slave  market  of  Bos- 
ton, when  Mrs.  John  Wheatley,  who  had  gone  to  the  market 
to  buy  a  house  maid  saw  the  child.  Liking  the  appearance  of 
the  little  girl,  Mrs.  Wheatley  bought  her  intending  to  train  her 
to  do  housework,  but  the  child  seemed  so  intelligent  that  Mrs. 
Wheatley  and  her  daughter  made  the  experiment  of  teaching 
her  to  read  and  write.  They  were  surprised  and  delighted 
with  her  aptness,  for  within  eighteen  months  after  she  had 
landed  in  this  country,  the  little  girl  whom  they  named  Phillis 
could  read  well.  Even  the  most  difficult  portions  of  the  Bible, 
which  was  in  those  days,  the  great  text-book  of  English-speak- 
ing peoples,  was  easily  read  by  Phillis. 

The  Wheatley  family  was  one  of  refinement  and  culture 
and  by  contact  with  them  and  their  friends,  the  very  best  that 
was  in  Phillis  was  brought  out.  When  she  was  twelve  years 
of  age  she  was  able  to  write  and  converse  with  great  ease  and 
when  she  was  seventeen  her  first  poems  were  published  in 
pamphlet  form  in  Boston. 

About  this  time  also,  in  1770,  Phillis  accepted  the  Christian 
religion  and  though  there  was  a  law  which  forbade  the  bap- 
tising of  slaves,  she  was  baptised  in  the  Old  South  Meeting 
House.  About  three  years  later  the  Wheatleys  set  Phillis  free, 
but  she  still  made  her  home  with  them,  for  the  family  treated 
her  as  a  beloved  daughter  and  she  returned  their  affection. 

After  obtaining  a  sound  foundation  in  English,  Phillis  took 
up  the  study  of  Latin  and  did  so  well  that  her  translations 
were  favorably  spoken  of  in  London  and  her  fame  gained  for 
her  many  English  friends.  She  had  never  enjoyed  robust 
health  and  when,  shortly  after  she  had  been  emancipated  at  the 
age  of  twenty,  and  her  physician  prescribed  for  her  a  sea  voy- 
age, she  went  to  England,  and  "she  carried  London  by  storm." 
"Thoughtful  people  praised  her,  titled  people  dined  her  and 
the  press  extolled  the  name  of  Phillis  Wheatley,  the  African 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  95 


poetess,"  and  in  1773  a  little  book  of  her  poems  was  printed 
by  a  London  publisher. 

Mrs.  Wheatley  fell  ill  and  longed  to  see  Phillis  whom  she 
dearly  loved,  so  Phillis  came  back  to  America,  but  Airs. 
Wheatley  lived  but  a  short  while  afterward,  and  as  her  hus- 
band and  her  daughter  soon  followed  her  to  the  grave,  Phillis 
was  left  alone  in  the  world. 

The  fact  that  a  slave  straight  from  Africa  was  capable  of 
being  so  thoroughly  trained  in  mind,  in  manners  and  in  morals 
had  a  great  influence  upon  the  thoughtful  people  of  her  time ; 
it  made  many  friends  for  the  Negro  and  encouraged  those 
who  were  already  friendly. 

Miss  Wheatley  was  married  to  John  Peters,  a  young  man 
"of  .talents  and  information,"  who  had  read  law  and  who 
owned  a  thriving  grocery  business  in  Court  Street.  But  he 
was  not  kind  to  Phillis  and  her  life  with  him  was  an  unhappy 
one.  In  December,  1784,  she  died,  "greatly  beloved  arid  sin- 
cerely mourned  by  all  whose  good  fortune  it  had  been  to  know 
her." 

Benjamin  Banneker,'  born  near  whaf  is  now  Silicon  City, 
Maryland,  was  another  great  Negro  of  this  period.  'His 
mother's  father  was  an  African  prince,  and  her  mother  taught 
Ben  to  read  the  Bible  and  to  learn  many  of  its  beautiful  verses 
by  heart.  There  was  also  in  the  neighborhood  a  private  school 
and  the  teacher  admitted  Benjamin  and  several  other  Colored 
children  along  with  the  whites.  Benjamin  cared  more  for 
knowledge  than  for  play  and  made 'the  most  of  his  time  in 
school.  Leaving  school,  he  went  to  live  on  his  "father's  farm 
and  was  considered  an  ideal  farmer,  making  the  most  of  the 
soil  and  keeping  his  place  neatly  and  in  order.  He  read  every 
book  he  could  buy  or  borrow  (books  were  scarce  in  his  neigh- 
borhood in  those  days),  being  especially  inclined  to  mechanics, 
mathematics  and  astronomy.  In  177<>,  using  a  borrowed  watch 
as  a  model,  he  made  a  large  clock  which  struck  the  hours, 
kept  perfect  time  and  was  the  wonder  of  the  neighborhood. 


96  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


It  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  clock  of  its  kind  that  was  made 
in  America. 

In  1773  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  George  Ellicott, 
whose  business  firm  had  built  a  flour  mill  and  opened  a  store 
not  far  from  Banneker's  home.  As  the  post  office  was  in  this 
store,  Benjamin  went  there  quite  often  and  in  that  way  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  farmers  and  gentlemen  who  lived 
in  the  surrounding  country.  His  large  stock  of  information 
and  his  modest  bearing  made  him  a  great  favorite  and  he  ex- 
changed with  the  learned  men  of  the  vicinity  problems  in 
mathematics  which  was  a  favorite  pastime  of  the  period. 

Benjamin  was  given  full  access  to  the  library  of  his  friend, 
Mr.  George  Ellicott,  and  the  latter  encouraged  and  urged  him 
to  make  the  most  of  his  abilities.  Benjamin  made  great  progress 
in  astronomy,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Ellicott  he  com- 
piled an  almanac  for  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Virginia  and 
Maryland.  In  1791  he  sent  a  written  copy  of  his  Almanac  to 
Thomas  Jefferson,  together  with  a  long  letter  pleading  for  the 
Negro  and  begging  that  his  own  accomplishments,  however 
humble,  might  be  taken  as  a  sign  of  what  the  Negro  could  do 
if  given  opportunity  and  encourage.nent.  Mr.  Jefferson's 
reply  was  most  courteous,  and  he  informed  Banneker  that  he 
had  sent  the  Almanac  to  scientific  friends  in  Paris,  as  it  de- 
served wide  publication.  This  Almanac  was  in  manuscript, 
but  the  next  year  Banneker  had  his  Almanac  printed  and  after 
that  they  appeared  each  year  until  his  death. 

Benjamin  Banneker  was  invited  to  assist  the  men  who  laid 
out  the  boundaries  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  his  qual- 
ities of  mind  and  modest,  dignified  deportment  made  a  great 
impression  upon  the  other  surveyors.  He  died  at  his  home  in 
the  year  1804,  the  most  renowned  and  intelligent  Negro  of 
this  time,  honored  by  all  who  knew  him  in  America  and 
Europe. 

Connecticut  furnished  a  noted  Negro  to  the  closing  days  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  in  the  person  of  Lemuel  Haynes,  who 
was  born  in  Hartford  in  1753.     He  was  educated  for  the  min- 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  97 


istry  and  was  famous  for  his  Biblical  knowledge,  his  brilliant, 
eloquent  sermons  and  his  forceful  arguments.  About  1788,  he 
made  his  home  in  Vermont  where,  as  a  preacher  he  was  well 
known  and  very  popular.  In  1801  Haynes  received  from 
Middlebury  College  the  honorary  degree  of  A.  M. 

Other  famous  ministers  of  the  period  were  Absalom  Jones, 
who  in  1792  founded  in  Philadelphia,  St.  Thomas  Episcopal 
Church.  This  was  the  first  colored  church  of  that  denomina- 
tion in  America,  and  Absalom  remained  its  rector  for  about 
twenty  years. 

In  New  York  City  the  Zion  branch  of  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  organized  by  James  Yarick,  William 
Miller,  Abraham  Thompson,  and  in  Philadelphia,  Richard  Al- 
len and  his  friends  organized  in  an  old  blacksmith  shop,  the 
first  church  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  body. 

John  Cuffee,  born  in  Africa,  and  sold  as  a  slave  in  Massa- 
chusetts, stands  out  in  bright  colors  for  wealth,  intelligence 
and  progressiveness.  "After  he  learned  the  English  language, 
he  turned  his  thoughts  to  freedom  and  in  a  few  years,  by  work- 
ing beyond  the  hours  he  devoted  to  his  master,  was  enabled 
to  buy  himself." 

By  working  and  saving  Curie  was,  in  a  few  years,  able  to 
buy  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  near  New  Bedford,  where 
his  Christian  character,  his  devotion  to  learning  and  his  great 
business  ability  caused  him  to  be  respected  by  all.  He  \va< 
married  to  an  Indian  woman  and  one  of  their  ten  children 
was  Captain  Paul  Cuffe  of  whom  you  have  read  in  the  talk 
on  Sierra  Leone. 

In  our  day  there  are  many  distinguished  Negro  physicians, 
of  whom  we  are  justly  proud.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  there  was  but  one  in  the  whole  country — Dr. 
James  Derham.  He  was  born  a  slave  in  Philadelphia  in  17<>2 
and  his  master  taught  him  to  read  and  write  and  to  assist  him 
in  the  making  of  medicines,  for  in  those  days  doctors  com- 
pounded themselves  most  of  the  medicines  which  they  pre- 
scribed.    Though  the  master  was  as  kind  as  he  knew  how  to 


98  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE^NEGRO 


be,  he  did  not  free  Derham,  and  the  latter,  upon  the  death  of 
his  owner,  was  sold  to  a  surgeon  in  the  16th  British  Regiment. 

The  surgeon  sold  Derham  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  to  Dr.  Robert  Dove  of  New  Orleans.  Dr.  Dove  appre- 
ciated the  ability  of  James  and  allowed  him  to  buy  his  freedom 
in  a  short  time.  Dr.  James  Derham  then  opened  an  office  of 
his  own  and  gained  a  large  practice.  In  1789,  when  Derham 
was  only  27  years  old,  a  white  physician  of  Philadelphia 
wrote  a  very  complimentary  article  concerning  him  to  a  scien- 
tific journal  of  the  period.  Dr.  Derham  is  said  to  have  spoken 
the  Spanish  and  French  languages  and  to  have  been  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  able  physicians  of  his  day  in  the  city  of 
New  Orleans. 

In  1770,  the  year  in  which  Phillis  Wheatley's  poems  were 
first  published  and  Benjamin  Banneker  was  making  his  clock, 
the  Negro  race  gave  to  the  cause  of  American  freedom  the  first 
martyr — Crispus  Attucks. 

Trouble  with  England  had  been  brewing  for  some  years  and 
the  British  soldiers  in  Boston  and  elsewhere  treated  the  Ameri- 
cans with  insult  and  contempt,  while  the  governors  of  the  col- 
onies, who  were  natives  of  England  and  appointed  by  the 
crown,  sympathized  with  the  soldiers. 

Attucks,  who  twenty  years  before  ran  away  from  his  master 
who  lived  in  Framingham,  had  later  come  to  Boston  and  had 
become  intensely  interested  in  the  quarrel  between  England 
and  America.  On  one  occasion  he  addressed  the  following 
letter  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson: 

"To  Thomas  Hutchinson. 

Sir:  You  will  hear  from  us  with  astonishment.  You  ought 
to  hear  from  us  with  horror.  You  are  chargeable  before  God 
and  man,  with  our  blood.  The  soldiers  were  but  passive  in- 
struments, mere  machines ;  neither  moral  nor  voluntary  agents 
in  our  destruction,  more  than  the  leaden  pellets  with  which  we 
were  wounded.  You  were  a  free  agent.  You  acted  coolly,  de- 
liberately, with  all  that  premeditated  malice,  not  against  us  in 
particular,  but  against  the  people  in  general,  which,  in  the  sight 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  99 


of  the  law,  is  an  ingredient  in  the  composition  of  murder.   You 
will  hear  further  from  us  hereafter. 

Crispus  Attucks." 

There  were  several  riots  in  the  streets  of  Boston  on  Alon- 
day,  March  5,  1770,  between  the  citizens  and  the  soldiers,  the 
latter  going  from  place  to  place  trying  to  arouse  the  anger  of 
the  citizens.  "Fresh,  wet  snow  had  fallen  and  frost  had  cov- 
ered the  streets  with  a  coat  of  ice.  The  moon  was  in  its  first 
quarter  and  shed  a  pale  light  over  the  town,  when  at  twilight, 
both  citizens  and  soldiers  began  to  assemble  in  the  streets.  By 
seven  o'clock  fully  seven  hundred  persons,  armed  with  clubs 
and  other  weapons  were  on  King  (now  State)  Street  and, 
provoked  by  the  insolence  and  brutality  of  the  lawless  soldiery, 
shouted  :  "Let  us  drive  out  the  rascals  !  They  have  no  business 
here;  drive  them  out!"  At  the  barracks  on  Brattle  Street  the 
soldiers  rushed  out,  and  leveling  their  muskets,  threatened  to 
make  a  lane  paved  with  dead  men  through  the  crowd. 

The  excitement  all  over  the  city  grew  more  and  more  in- 
tense and  when  a  detachment  of  soldiers  under  Captain  Pres- 
ton, officer  of  the  day,  encountered  a  crowd  of  citizens  near 
the  Custom  House  the  soldiers  were  pelted  with  snowballs 
and  ice.  Crispus  Attucks,  leader  of  the  citizens,  accused  the 
soldiers  of  cowardice  and  urging  the  citizens  to  attack  them, 
he  rushed  forward,  seized  one  of  the  guns  and  was  almost 
immediately  shot.  Samuel  Gray  and  Jonas  Caldwell  were  also 
killed,  while  Patrick  Carr  and  Samuel  Maverick  were  mortally 
wounded. 

News  of  the  tragedy  spread  over  the  town  in  a  few  minutes. 
It  was  now  near  midnight.  There  was  a  light  in  every  house, 
for  few  besides  children  had  retired  on  that  fearful  night  in 
Boston.  The  alarm  bells  were  rung;  drums  beat  to  arms.  A 
cry  went  through  the  streets,  "The  soldiers  are  murdering  the 
people.  To  arms!  To  arms!  Turn  out  with  your  guns!"  Pres- 
ton also  ordered  his  drums  to  beat  to  arms.  But  the  colonel  of 
the  regiment  and  the  lieutenant-governor  promised  the  citizens 
that  justice  should  be  vindicated  and  order  was  restored. 


ioo  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


As  Attucks  and  Caldwell  were  without  relatives  in  the  city, 
their  bodies  were  carried  to  Faneuil  Hall,  so  justly  called  the 
"Cradle  of  Liberty,"  and  from  there  they  were  buried.  The 
hearses  met  those  containing  the  bodies  of  Gray  and  Maverick 
in  King  Street,  and  from  thence  the  procession  moved  in  col- 
umns six  deep  with  a  long  line  of  coaches  containing  the  first 
citizens  of  Boston.  The  obsequies  were  witnessed  by  a  very 
large  and  respectful  concourse  of  people.  The  bodies  were 
deposited  in  one  grave,  over  which  a  stone  was  placed  bearing 
this  inscription : 

"Long  as  in  Freedom's  cause  the  wise  contend, 
Dear  to  your  country  shall  your  fame  extend ; 
While  to  the  world  the  lettered  stone  shall  tell 
Where  Caldwell,  Attucks,  Gray  and  Maverick  fell." 

The  murder  of  Crispus  Attucks  and  his  comrades  was  called 
the  Boston  Massacre.  Although  in  tiK.se  days  there  were 
neither  steam  cars,  electric  cars,  telegraph  nor  telephone,  the 
news  of  the  massacre  spread  like  wild-fire  through  the  col- 
onies. The  feeling  of  indignation  and  resentment  which  the 
affair  aroused  did  much  to  unite  the  people.  A  statesman  of 
the  period  said,  long  afterward:  "Not  the  battle  of  Lexington 
or  Bunker  Hill,  nor  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  or  Cornwallis, 
were  more  important  events  in  American  history  than  the  bat- 
tle of  King  Street,  on  the  fifth  of  March,  1770.  The  death  of 
four  or  five  persons,  the  most  obscure  and  inconsiderable  that 
could  have  been  found  upon  the  continent,  has  never  yet  been 
forgiven  in  any  part  of  America." 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


IOI 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 

BESIDES  the  achievements  noted  in  the  foregoing  chapter 
the   Negro  played  a  courageous  and  distinguished  part 
in  the  War  for  American  Independence.     By  this  time 
there  were  many  free  Negroes  in  the  colonies ;  besides  those 


NEGROES   IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL. 

who  had  been  able  to  buy  themselves  and  those  who  had 
obtained  their  liberty  by  other  means,  a  number  of  men  had 
been  freed  for  brave  conduct  shown  during  the  Indian  and 
French  wars.  From  the  very  beginning  these  men  stood  ready 
to  fight  with  the  Americans. 

At  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  when  the  English  leader,  Major 
Pitcairn,  suddenly  appeared  before  the  American  breastworks, 
calling  upon  the  colonists  to  surrender  and  exclaiming  to  his 
followers,  "  The  day  is  ours,"  for  a  few  moments  the  Amer- 
icans were  dumbfounded  and  neither  answered  nor  fired.    "  At 


io2  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


this  critical  moment  a  Negro  soldier  stepped  forward,  and  aim- 
ing  his   musket    directly    at    the    major's   bosom,   blew   him 
through,"  thus  checking  temporarily  the  advance  of  the  British. 
The  Negro  who  so  distinguished  himself  was  Peter  Salem, 
an  ex-slave  of  Framingham,  the  place  where  Crispus  Attucks 
had  lived.     Salem  served  for  seven  years  in  the  Continental 
army  and  came  out  of  the  war  unharmed.     He  received  many 
honors  during  his  life  and  died  at  Framingham  in  1816. 
%  Salem  Poor  was  another  who  was  known  as  a  brave  and 
-'gallant  soldier.     He  fought  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  and  in 
ir  other  engagements  and  the  officers  under  whom  he  served  sent 
-  a  petition  concerning  him  to  Congress  in  which  they  state  that 
y  Salem  Poor  had  "  behaved  in  battle  like  an  experienced  offi- 
I'FeeT,;  as  well  as  an  excellent  soldier,"  and  that  "  the  reward  due 
ftp    so    great    and    distinguished    a    character,    we    submit  to 
'Congress." 
. ;ff?:' Not  only  the  freedmen  but  the  slaves  were  anxious  to  help 
(j.the  colonists,  the  latter  feeling  that  if  they  loyally  assisted  their 
-'"masters  to  throw  off  the  British  yoke  there  would  be  a  chance 
of  securing  also  their  own  freedom.     But  the  Committee  of 
Safety  early  decided  that  slaves  should  not  be  allowed  to  en- 
list, and  any  who  had  attached  themselves  to  the  army  were 
ordered  to  be  returned  to  their  masters. 

Many  masters  in  the  northern  colonies  offered  to  free  their 
slaves,  hoping  thereby  to  strengthen  the  army.  The  southerners 
objected  to  that  and  the  whole  subject  of  allowing  the  Negro 
in  the  army  was  warmly  debated,  by  the  delegates  from  the 
northern  and  southern  colonies.  A  committee  which  included 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Benjamin  Harrison  and  Thomas  Lynch 
with  the  deputy  governors  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island, 
met  a  committee  of  the  Council  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  it 
was  agreed  "  That  the  Negroes  be  rejected  altogether." 

Later  General  Washington  advised  that  the  free  Negroes 
who  had  served  faithfully  in  the  army  at  Cambridge  might 
reenlist  therein,  but  no  others.  "The  General  was  induced  to 
take  this  action  by  a  committee  of  freemen,  headed  by  Prince 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  103 


Hall,  who  went  to  headquarters  and  laid  their  ease  before  the 
commander-in-chief." 

While  the  Americans  were  divided  as  to  allowing  the  Negro 
)  enlist,  the  English  were  offering  freedom  to  all  who  would 
join  them,  and  in  many  colonies,  especially  in  Virginia,  South 
Carolina  and  New  York,  many  slaves  flocked  to  the  British 
standard.  General  Washington  saw  that  this  would  prove  a 
serious  blow  to  the  cause  of  the  Americans,  especially  in  the 
south.  To  take  the  Negroes  out  of  the  field,  from  raising 
produce  for  the  army  and  place  them  in  front  of  patriots  as. 
opposing  soldiers,  he  saw  was  a  danger  that  should  be  averted. 
And  so  the  matter  was  discussed  backward  and  forward  and 
decided  first  one  way  then  another. 

"In  the  south  the  dread  in  which  the  colonists  held  the  Negro 
was  equal  to  that  with  which  they  regarded  the  Indians.  The 
incendiary  torch,  massacre,  pillage  and  revolt  were  ever  pre- 
senting to  their  minds  a  gloomy  and  disastrous  picture.  Their 
dreams  at  night,  their  thoughts  by  day,  in  the  field  and  in  the 
legislative  hall,  were  how  to  keep  the  Negro  down.  If  one 
should  be  seen  in  a  village  with  a  gun,  a  half  score  of  white 
men  would  run  and  take  it  from  him,  while  the  women  in  the 
street  would  take  shelter  in  the  nearest  house.  The  wrongs 
which  they  continued  to  practice  upon  him  were  a  terror  to 
them  through  their  conscience,  though  then,  as  in  later  years, 
many,  and  particularly  the  leaders,  endeavored  to  impress 
others  with  their  feigned  belief  of  the  natural  inferiority  of  the 
Negro  to  themselves.  This  doctrine  served  them,  as  the  whistle 
did  the  boy  in  the  woods ;  they  talked  in  that  way  simply  to 
keep  their  courage  up  and  their  conscience  down." 

Although  the  southerners,  as  a  whole,  opposed  the  enlistment 
of  Negroes,  there  were  among  them  wise  and  farseeing  indi- 
viduals who  advocated  it.  Prominent  among  the  latter  were 
the  Hon.  Henry  Laurens  and  his  son,  Col.  John  Laurens,  of 
South  Carolina.  Colonel  Laurens  had  acted  as  aid-de-camp  to 
General  Washington  and  his  services  in  Rhode  Island  and  else- 
where had  given  him  a  chance  to  correctly  value  the  Negro  as 


104  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


a  soldier.  He  spent  much  energy,  time  and  thought  in  an 
endeavor  to  have  the  people  of  his  native  section  agree  to  the 
enlistment  of  Negroes.  Until  his  death  he  urged  upon  his 
southern  countrymen  the  advisability  of  this  step,  but  in  vain. 

Meantime,  both  north  and  south,  Negroes  were  attaching 
themselves  to  the  American  army  in  various  capacities,  always 
earning  the  respect  of  their  comrades.  They  realized,  as  you 
have  read  in  the  petition  of  the  Boston  Negroes,  that  the 
arguments  which  led  their  masters  to  fight  applied  much  more 
truly  to  themselves  and  they  hoped  by  meritorious  conduct  to 
compel  their  owners  to  see  as  they  did.  "The  Negro's  ancestors 
were  not  slaves,  so  upon  the  altar  of  their  hearts  the  fire  of 
liberty  was  rekindled  by  the  utterances  of  the  white  colon'sts." 

The  distressing  condition  of  the  American  army  at  the  close 
of  the  campaign  of  1777,  when  it  lay  at  Valley  Forge  and 
many  soldiers  for  want  of  shoes  walked  barefoot  on  the  frozen 
ground;  few,  if  any,  had  blankets  for  the  night,  and  great 
numbers  sickened,  caused  the  authorities  to  welcome  strong 
and  able-bodied  men.  Those  who  favored  the  enlistment  of 
the  Negro  again  began  to  plead  for  him.  Before  the  close  of 
the  war  many  Negroes  were  enlisted  in  the  companies  of  the 
southern  colonies,  but  Rhode  Island  was  the  only  colony  which 
bad  an  entire  regiment  of  Negroes. 

In  Connecticut  a  Negro  company  was  organized  and  David 
Humphreys,  a  gallant  Negro,  became  the  captain.  Congress 
commissioned  him  as  lieutenant  colonel  in  November  17<S^ 
with  the  order  that  his  commission  should  date  from  the  23rd 
of  June  1780,  when  he  received  his  appointment  as  aid-de-camp 
to  the  commander-in-chief.  Colonel  Humphi  eys  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war. 

In  Massachusetts  and  in  some  of  the  other  northern  colonies 
friends  of  the  Negro  insisted  that  there  should  be  no  separate 
companies,  hoping  in  that  way  to  overcome  race  prejudice, 
consequently  there  is  but  a  fragmentary  record  of  the  deeds 
of  Negro  soldiers.  Following  are  the  names  of  some  who  gave 
praiseworhy  service : 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


Ebenezer  Hill  was  a  slave  at  Stonington,  Conn.,  who  served 
throughout  the  war  and  who  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Sara- 
toga and  Stillwater,  and  witnessed  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 

Prince  Whipple  acted  as  bodyguard  to  General  Whipple,  one 
of  Washington's  aids.  Prince  is  the  Negro  seen  on  horseback 
in  the  engraving  of  Washington  crossing  the  Delaware  and 
again  pulling  the  stroke  oar  in  the  boat  in  which  Washington 
crossed.  "  Deborah  Gannett,  a  Negro  woman  enlisted  in  the 
Fourth  Massachusetts  Regiment  in  disguise,  under  the  name 
of  Robert  Shurtliff  in  1782,  and  served  a  year  and  a  half,  for 
which  the  General  Court  paid  her  thirty  four  pounds  sterling 
in  1792." 

**  At  the  storming  of  Fort  Griswold  Major  Montgomery  was 
lifted  upon  the  walls  of  the  fort  by  his  soldiers  and  called  upon 
the  Americans  to  surrender.  John  Freeman,  a  Negro  soldier, 
with  his  p'ke,  pinned  him  dead  to  the  earth.  Among  the  Amer- 
ican soldiers  who  were  massacred  by  the  British  soldiers,  after 
the  surrender  of  the  fort  were  two  Negro  soldiers.  Lambo 
Latham  and  Jordan  Freeman. 

"  Quack  Matrick,  a  Negro,  fought  through  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  as  a  soldier,  for  which  he  was  pensioned.  Also 
Jonathan  Overtin,  who  was  in  the  Battle  of  Yorktown.  Simon 
Lee,  of  Virginia,  and  Major  Jeffrey,  of  Tennesse,  also  rendered 
excellent  service." 

Following  is  an  interesting  account  of  an  aged  Negro  patriot 
from  the  Burlington  Gazette,  written  in  the  early  nineteenth 
century  :  "  The  attention  of  many  of  our  citizens  has  doubtless 
been  arrested  by  the  appearance  of  an  old  colored  man  who 
might  have  been  seen  sitting  in  front  of  his  residence  in  east 
Union  street  respectfully  raising  his  hat  to  those  who  might  be 
passing  by.  His  attenuated  frame,  his  silvered  head,  his  feeble 
movements,  combine  to  prove  that  he  is  very  aged,  and  yet 
comparatively  few  are  aware  that  he  is  among  the  survivors 
of  the  gallant  army  who  fought  for  the  liberties  of  our  country. 

"  On  Monday  last  we  stopped  to  speak  to  him,  and  ask  how 
old  he  was.     He  asked  the  day  of  the  month,  and  upon  being 


io6  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


told  that  it  was  the  21th  of  May  replied  with  trembling  lips, 
'  I  am  very  old;  I  am  a. hundred  years  old  today.' 

"  His  name  is  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  he  says  that  he  was 
born  at  the  Black  Horse  (now  Columbus)  in  this  county,  in 
the  family  of  John  Hutchins.  He  enlisted  in  a  company  com- 
manded by  Captain  Lowry,  attached  to  the  Second  New  Jersey 
Regiment,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Israel  Shreve.  He  was 
at  the  battles  of  Trenton,  Brandywine,  Princeton,  Monmouth 
and  Yorktown,  at  which  latter  place  he  saw  the  last  man  killed. 
Although  his  faculties  are  failing,  yet  he  relates  many  interest- 
ing reminiscences  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  with  the  army 
at  the  retreat  of  the  Delaware,  on  the  memorable  crossing  of 
the  25th  of  December,  1776,  and  relates  the  story  of  the  battle 
on  the  succeeding  day  with  enthusiasm.  He  gives  the  details 
of  the  march  from  Trenton  to  Princeton,  and  told  us,  with 
much  humor  that  they  '  knocked  the  British  around  lively'  at 
the  latter  place." 

"Cromwell  was  brought  up  with  a  farmer,  having  served 
his  time  with  Thomas  Hutchins.  He  was  for  six  years  and 
nine  months  under  the  immediate  command  of  Washington, 
whom  he  loved  affectionately.  His  discharge,  at  the  close  of 
the  war  was  in  Washington's  own  handwriting,  of  which  he 
was  very  proud,  often  speaking  of  it.  He  received  annually 
ninety-six  dollars  pension.  His  long  life  was  an  honorable 
one." 

The  census  for  1775  gave  the  slave  population  as  follows: 
Connecticut,  5,000;  Delaware,  9,000;  Georgia.  16,000;  Mary- 
land, 80,000;  Massachusetts,  3,500;  New  Hampshire,  629; 
North  Carolina,  75,000;  New  York,  15,000;  New  Jersey. 
7,600;  Pennsylvania,  10,000;  Rhode  Island,  4,373;  South  Caro- 
line, 110,000;  Virginia,  165,000.  By  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  Massachusetts  and  Vermont  had  freed  their  slaves, 
but  many  of  the  other  colonies  had  increased  their  holdings. 

So  that  in  spite  of  the  distinguished  services  which  Negro 
soldiers  and  sailors  gave  to  their  country,  in  spite  of  the 
expectations  of  the  slaves  and  their  friends,  the  close  of  the 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  107 


war  brought  little  relief ;  indeed  many  who  had  fought  with 
great  bravery  were  returned  to  slavery,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century  found  hope  almost  dead  in  the  breast  of 
slaves.  Almost,  but  not  entirely,  for  there  have  always  been 
those  among  us  whose  faith  and  trust  in  God  has  never  wav- 
ered and  whose  belief  in  the  final  triumph  of  justice  and  right 
has  remained  unshaken. 


io8 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  FIRST  HALF  OF  THE  NINE- 
TEENTH CENTURY. 

What  is  called  the  "Negro  Problem"  has  occupied  the  time 
and  thought  of  Americans  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  United  States.  True  patriots  have  never  doubted 
what  was  best  to  do  with  the  Negro — simply  to  treat  him  as 


NEGRO  SAILORS  IN  THE  WAR  OF  1812. 

any  other  human  being,  to  give  him  every  opportunity  and 
encouragement,  and  to  demand  of  him  strict  obedience  to  the 
same  laws  which  equally  apply  to  other  men.  But,  alas,  how 
small  a  proportion  of  true  patriots  and  statesmen  has  this 
country  so  far  produced !  How  few  who  comprehend  that 
naught  but  good  can  come  to  the  individual  or  the  nation  that 
persistently  deals  justice  and  righteousness! 

The  convention  of  delegates  which  met  in  New  York  in 
May,  1787,  and  over  which  George  Washington  presided, 
agreed,  after  a  heated  debate,  upon  a  compromise  by  which 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  109 


the  merchants  of  the  northern  states  were  to  have  the  shipping 
privileges  (they  owned  most  of  the  ships)  and  the  southern 
rice-planters  were  to  have  the  privileges  of  importing  slaves 
from  Africa  or  elsewhere  during  a  period  of  twenty  years ; 
all  the  colonies  but  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  had  previously  passed  laws  against  the  importation  of 
slaves. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  people  began  to 
move  from  the  older  colonies  and  to  spread  out  to  the  south 
and  west.  It  was  not  long  before  the  dwellers  in  the  newly 
settled  territory  began  to  apply  to  Congress  for  admission  into 
the  Union.  At  once  began  the  struggle  between  the  Abolition- 
ists and  those  who  desired  to  perpetuate  slavery ;  the  former 
saw  slavery  to  be  a  curse  upon  the  land  and  people,  the  latter 
could  think  of  nothing  but  the  labor  which  they  could  wring 
from  the  slave  and  the  wealth  it  would  bring  them. 

Most  of  the  New  England  and  Middle  States  had  passed 
laws  for  gradual  emancipation  and  in  New  York,  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania  the  Quakers  worked  without  ceasing  for  uni- 
versal emancipation.  In  17!)!.),  when  Kentucky  revised  her 
constitution,  Henry  Clay,  then  a  young  man,  made  a  brilliant 
speech  in  favor  of  gradual  emancipation  in  that  state,  but  in 
spite  of  his  eloquence,  the  clause  was  not  inserted.  Up  to  1802 
Georgia  included  all  the  territory  that  is  now  Alabama  and 
Mississippi ;  in  April  of  that  year,  with  the  provisions  that 
slavery  should  be  allowed,  Georgia  ceded  the  territory  and 
"Alabama  and  Mississippi  became  the  most  cruel  slave  states  in 
the  Union." 

The  following  census  for  1810  will  show  that  though  slavery 
had  decreased  in  some  parts  of  the  Union  it  had  greatly  in- 
creased in  other  parts  since  1775 :  District  of  Columbia,  5,31)5 ; 
Rhode  Island,  108;  Connecticut,  310;  Pennsylvania,  71)5;  Del- 
aware, 4,177;  New  Jersey,  10,851;  New  York,  15,017;  Louisi- 
ana, 34,660 ;  Tennessee  44,535 ;  Kentucky,  80,561 ;  Georgia. 
105,218;  Maryland,  111,502;  North  Carolina,  168,824;  South 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


Carolina,  196,365;  Virginia,  392,518;  Mississippi  Territory, 
17,088;  Indiana  Territory,  237;  Louisiana  Territory,  3,011; 
Illinois  Territory,  168;  Michigan  Territory,  2-1. 

When  war  was  declared  with  Great  Britain  in  1812,  Negroes 
offered  themselves  as  soldiers,  but  at  first  few  were  accepted ; 
it  is  said,  however,  that  about  one-tenth  of  the  crews  of  the 
war  vessels  were  Negroes,  and  that  they  fought  bravely  in  all 
the  battles  on  the  Great  Lakes.  New  York  raised  two  colored 
regiments.  After  the  British  had  captured  Washington, 
burned  the  Capitol,  President's  house  and  many  other  public 
buildings  and  threatened  Baltimore,  an  English  fleet  suddenly 
appeared  outside  New  Orleans. 

General  Andrew  Jackson,  commander  of  the  army  of  the 
southwest,  issued  a  call  for  free  Negroes  as  soldiers,  in  which 
he  said:  "Through  a  mistaken  policy  you  have  heretofore  been 
deprived  of  a  participation  in  the  glorious  struggle  for  na- 
tional rights  in  which  our  country  is  engaged.  This  shall  no 
longer  exist.  *  *  *  As  sons  of  freedom  you  are  now  called 
upon  to  defend  our  most  inestimable  blessing.  As  Americans, 
your  country  looks  with  confidence  to  her  adopted  children 
for  a  valorous  support,  as  a  faithful  return  for  the  advantages 
enjoyed  under  her  mild  and  equitable  government.  As  fathers, 
husbands,  and  brothers,  you  are  summoned  to  rally  around  the 
standard  of  the  eagle,  to  defend  all  which  is  dear  in  existence." 

Of  course  the  brave  Negroes  responded  (five  hundred  of 
them)  and  were  organized  into  two  battalions.  On  December 
18th,  1814,  when  General  Jackson  reviewed  his  forces,  his  ad- 
dress to  the  Negroes  was  as  follows:  "Soldiers,  from  the 
shores  of  Mobile  I  collected  you  to  arms.  I  invited  you  to 
share  in  the  perils  and  to  divide  the  glory  of  your  white  coun- 
trymen. I  expected  much  from  you ;  for  I  was  not  uninformed 
of  those  qualities  which  must  render  you  so  formidable  to  an 
invading  foe.  I  knew  that  you  could  endure  hunger  and  thirst, 
and  all  the  hardships  of  war.  I  knew  that  you  loved  the  land 
of  your  nativity,  and  that,  like  ourselves,  you  had  to  defend 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  m 


all  that  is  most  dear  to  man.  But  you  surpass  my  hopes.  T 
have  found  in  you,  united  to  these  qualities,  that  noble  enthu- 
siasm which  impels  to  great  deeds. 

"Soldiers,  the  President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  in- 
formed of  your  conduct  on  the  present  occasion ;  and  the  voice 
of  the  Representatives  of  the  American  nation  shall  applaud 
your  valor,  as  your  general  now  praises  your  ardor.  The 
enemy  is  near.  His  sails  cover  the  lakes,  but  the  brave  are 
united,  and  if  he  finds  us  contending  among  ourselves,  it  will 
be  for  the  prize  of  valor,  and  fame  its  noblest  reward." 

The  Negroes  behaved  gallantly  and  the  Black  heroes  of  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans  were  loudly  applauded  at  home  and 
abroad,  but  the  noise  of  the  slave  marts  soon  silenced  this 
praise  and  nowhere  were  the  laws  more  rigidly  enforced 
against  the  Negroes,  both  slave  and  free,  than  in  Louisiana. 
Nor  did  gratitude  affect  the  lot  of  the  slave  in  any  state  where 
slavery  existed. 

It  is  said  that  about  this  time  a  gang  of  slaves  were  being 
driven  through  Washington  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  The  city 
was  gaily  decorated,  cannon  were  booming,  drums  beating  and 
flags  flying  under  shadow  of  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  of  this 
"mild  and  equitable"  government.  One  of  the  men  lifted  his 
hands,  loaded  with  irons,  toward  the  flag  and  sang  in  bitter 
irony,  "Hail  Columbia!    Happy  Land." 

The  bravery  of  the  Negro  and  the  injustice  and  cruelty  with 
which  he  was  treated  filled  the  hearts  of  humane  white  people 
with  pity  for  him  and  with  determination  to  help  him.  As  you 
know,  the  Quakers  or  Friends  have  always  been  foremost 
among  the  lovers  of  justice  and  mercy.  Though  uniformly 
kind  to  their  slaves  when  convinced  of  the  wickedness  of  the 
system,  they  had  freed  their  slaves  by  the  hundreds  and  wher- 
ever possible  had  caused  the  passage  of  immediate  or  gradual 
emancipation  laws. 

Anthony  Benezet  was  a  Frenchman  by  birth,  who  had  set- 
tled in  Philadelphia  and  joined  the  Society  of  Friends.     He 


ii2  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


was  a  "reasoning,  eloquent,  learned  and  eager  denouncer  of 
slavery  and  the  slave  trade  and  published  several  works  on  the 
subject."  He  wrote  to  Queen  Charlotte  and  interested  her  in 
the  matter  and  also  corresponded  with  Granville  Sharpe  and 
other  members  of  the  Abolition  Society  in  England. 

In  1750  he  established  in  Philadelphia  the  first  school  for 
colored  people  in  the  state  and  "taught  it  himself,  without 
money  and  without  price."  He  said,  "I  can,  with  truth  and 
sincerity,  declare  that  I  have  found  among  the  Negroes  as 
great  variety  of  talents  as  among  a  like  number  of  whites,  and 
I  am  bold  to  assert  that  the  notion  entertained  by  some  that  the 
blacks  are  inferior  in  their  capacity  is  a  vulgar  prejudice, 
founded  on  the  pride  or  ignorance  of  their  lordly  masters,  who 
have  kept  their  slaves  at  such  a  distance  as  to  be  unable  to 
form  a  right  judgment  of  them."  In  January,  1770, 
through  his  influence  was  appointed  a  special  committee  of 
Friends  who  sought  to  employ  an  instructor  to  teach  (not  more 
than  thirty  at  one  time)  Negro  children  "in  the  first  rudiments 
of  school  learning  and  in  sewing  and  knitting."  Benezet  died 
May  3rd,  1784,  greatly  mourned,  especially  by  the  Negroes  to 
whom  he  had  proven  so  kind  and  true  a  friend. 

Another  Quaker,  Benjamin  Lundy,  talked  and  wrote  with- 
out ceasing  against  slavery ;  he  traveled  from  place  to  place 
and  as  he  journeyed,  he  preached  his  doctrine  and  distributed 
his  paper,  "The  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,"  which  he 
had  established  in  1821.  "He  raised  his  voice  against  slave 
keeping  in  Virginia,  Ohio,  Tennessee,  Maryland  and  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  once  he  made  a  tour  of  the  Free  States, 
like  another  Apostle  Paul,  stirring  up  the  love  of  the  brethren 
for  those  who  were  in  bonds,  lecturing,  obtaining  subscribers 
for  his  paper,  writing  editorials,  getting  them  printed  where 
he  could,  stopping  by  the  wayside  to  read  his  proof,  and  di- 
recting and  mailing  his  papers  at  the  nearest  post  office ;  then, 
packing  up  his  column  rules,  type,  heading  and  direction  book, 
he  would  journey  on,  a  lone,  solitary  Friend." 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  113 


Lundy's  paper  reached  the  editorial  desk  of  an  enthusiastic 
young  man  away  up  in  Bennington,  Vermont.  The  latter  was 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  who  was  publishing  a  paper  called  the 
Journal  of  the  Times.  He  had  been  advocating  the  principles 
of  Peace  and  Temperance,  and  to  those  he  now  added  "an  in- 
tense hatred  for  slavery."  Garrison  secured  many  names  to  a 
petition  to  Congress  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia, as  that  territory  was,  and  is,  under  Congressional 
control. 

Lundy  was  so  pleased  with  Garrison's  forceful  writings  and 
original  methods,  that  he  went  to  Bennington  to  see  him.  You 
can  imagine  how  both  enjoyed  that  conference,  for  up  to  that 
time  the  number  of  people  who  felt  as  they  did  were  compara- 
tively few.  Garrison  consented  to  go  to  Baltimore  and  edit  the 
Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation  and  Lundy  was  to  sell  the 
paper  and  attend  to  other  details. 

Garrison  had  not  long  been  in  Balitmore  when  he  witnessed 
the  slapping  ->f  a  'oad  of  slaves  for  the  New  Orle&n::  market. 
The  heart-rending  scenes,  as  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and 
children  were  torn  from  each  other,  probably  to  meet  no  more, 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  young  editor.  He  published 
in  his  paper  such  a  scathing  article  upon  the  subject  that  he 
was  arrested  for  libel  and  thrown  into  prison,  while  a  large 
sum  was  demanded  as  bail. 

When  finally  released  he  came  out  of  prison  more  than  ever 
the  unfaltering,  implicable  enemy  to  slavery.  Before  this  the 
cause  of  Abolition  had  lacked  leadership ;  it  now  found  in  Gar- 
rison a  leader  in  every  way  fitted  for  the  task.  He  determined 
to  go  to  Boston,  the  birthplace  of  Liberty,  and  there  he  pub- 
lished his  new  paper,  the  Liberator.  Speaking  of  his  purpose 
he  said:  "Let  Southern  oppressors  tremble;  let  their  secret 
abettors  tremble ;  let  all  the  enemies  of  the  persecuted  Black 
tremble."  "I  am  aware  that  many  object  to  the  severity  of 
my  language;  but  is  there  not  cause  for  severity?"  "I  am  in 
earnest.  I  will  not  equivocate;  T  will  not  excuse;  I  will  not 
retreat  a  single  inch,  AND  I  WILL  BE  HEARD." 


iM  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


"Oppression,  I  have  seen  thee  face  to  face, 

And  met  thy  cruel  eye  and  cloudy  brow  ; 

But  thy  soul-withering  glance  I  fear  not  now — 

For  dread  to  prouder  feelings  doth  give  place, 

To  deep  abhorence.     Scorning  the  disgrace 

Of  slavish  knees  that  at  they  footstool  bow, 

I  also  kneel — but  with  far  other  vow 

Do  hail  thee  and  thy  herd  of  hirelings  base ; 

I  swear  while  life  blood  warms  my  throbbing  veins, 

Still  to  oppose  and  thwart,  with  heart  and  hand. 

Thy  brutalizing  sway — till  Afric's  chains 

Are  burst,  and  Freedom  rules  the  rescued  land, 

Trampling  Oppression  and  his  iron  rod  ; 

Such  is  the  vow  I  take — so  help  me,  God!" 

'William  Lloyd  Garrison  kept  his  vow  and  lived  to  see  the- 
cruel  system  of  slavery  crushed  to  death  and  the  oppressed 
Negro  set  free.  Among  the  first  subscribers  to  the  Liberator 
was  James  Forten,  a  colored  man  of  Philadelphia,  who  gave 
fifty  dollars. 

There  is  a  long  list  of  noble  women  and  men  who  took  active 
part  in  the  Abolition  movement;  among  them  were:  Wendell 
Phillips,  Charles  Sumner,  Gerrit  Smith.  James  G.  Birney,  My- 
ron Hally,  Beriah  Greene,  Samuel  Green,  Lewis  and  Arthur 
Tappan,  John  P.  Hale,  John  G.  Saxe,  Owen  Lovejoy,  Benja- 
min Ward,  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  S.  J.  Chase,  Jas.  M.  Fitch, 
Chas.  G.  Finney,  W.  A.  Seward,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Lyman 
Beecher,  Archbishop  Hughes,  Frederick  Douglass,  Charles  L. 
Remond,  Samuel  Ringold  Ward,  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  Geo. 
W.  Curtis,  Calvert  E.  Stowe,  Sojourner  Truth,  Theodore 
Parker,  Elizur  Wright,  Horace  Bushnell,  James  Russell  Low- 
ell, Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  John  G.  Whittier,  Henry  W.  Long- 
fellow, William  Cullen  Bryant,  Daniel  Anthony,  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, H.  B.  Stanton,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Gertrude. 
Brown,  Sarah  E.  Grimke,  Angelina  Grimke,  Phoebe  Hatha- 
way, Horace  Greeley,  Ethan  Allen,  Arthur  Allen,  George  F. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  nj 


Seward,  Edward  and  Samuel  H.  Blake,  Frederick  Seward, 
Jas.  H.  Wilson,  Lucretia  Mott  and  Professor  Goldwin  Smith. 
Of  some  of  the  Negroes  who  were  prominent  Abolitionists, 
you  shall  hear  later. 

While  the  Abolitionists  were  striving  for  emancipation,  with 
tongue  and  pen,  the  lot  of  the  slave  became  so  unbearable  in 
some  places  that  some  of  them  plotted  to  kill  their  masters 
and  gain  freedom  in  that  way.  It  is  very  possible  that  they 
had  heard  of  what  had  been  accomplished  in  Haiti ;  at  any  rate, 
in  1800,  a  Negro  named  General  Gabriel  planned  an  uprising 
by  which  he  hoped  to  take  possession  of  the  city  of  Richmond. 

He  expected  to  bring  together  eleven  hundred  men  and  they 
were  to  meet  at  a  brook  about  six  miles  from  the  city,  where 
the  force  was  to  be  divided  into  three  parts.  The  attack  was 
to  be  made  at  night,  "the  right  wing  was  to  fall  suddenly  upon 
the  penitentiary  (which  had  been  turned  into  an  arsenal)  and 
sieze  the  arms ;  the  left  wing  was  to  capture  the  powder  house 
and  the  two  columns  were  to  supply  the  third  with  arms.  The 
third  column  was  to  divide  and  enter  the  town  (which  at  the 
time  had  only  about  eight  thousand  inhabitants)  f ro  n  both 
ends,  while  the  other  two  columns  were  to  act  as  reserves." 

The  plan  failed  and  the  leaders  were  punished,  but  the  ef- 
fort caused  a  great  commotion  throughout  the  country  and  the 
insurrection  was  pointed  out  as  one  of  the  evil  results  of 
slavery. 

In  18'22,  Denmark  Vesc.y,  Peter  Poyas  and  others  plotted 
for  an  uprising  in  Charleston.  S.  C.  It  is  said  that  hundred; 
of  Negroes  were  ii  the  plot  and  that  it  extended  for  fifty  miles 
around  the  city ;  the  leaders  made  a  point  of  enlisting  no  one 
who  was  talkative  or  intemperate,  and  house  servants  were  not 
welcomed.  It  was  through  one  of  the  latter,  however,  that  the 
plan  was  betrayed  and  the  leaders  captured  and  executed. 
They  died  without  revealing  the  details  of  their  plan. 

Nathaniel  Turner  was  born  in  Southampton  Count}',  Vir- 
ginia, October  2nd,  1800,  just  about  one  month  after  "General"' 
Gabriel's  plot  was  discovered.     His  father  was  a  preacher  and 


Ii6  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


his  mother  a  very  pious  woman,  who  believed  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures  would  again  be  fulfilled  in  her  day  and  that 
her  little  son  was  to  be  a  prophet  and  a  "Moses"  for  his  people. 
She  taught  him  to  believe  this,  also,  when  he  was  verv  young 
and  she  urged  him  to  prepare  himself  for  his  mission.  Conse- 
quently Nat  grew  up  with  serious  thoughts ;  he  took  no  part  in 
the  social  life  of  his  acquaintances;  it  is  said  he  never  laughed, 
but  whenever  he  could  he  would  go  off  into  the  woods  or  the 
mountains  where  he  could  be  alone.  His  grandmother  also 
encouraged  Nat  in  peculiar  thoughts  and  actions  and  the  name 
of  Nat  Turner  was  known  to  the  Negroes  for  miles  and  miles 
around  as  that  of  a  leader  and  prophet. 

Finally,  like  Joan  of  Arc,  Nat  declared  that  he  heard  spirit 
voices  which  told  him  that  the  time  had  come  to  strike  a  blow 
for  the  freedom  of  his  people.  Fie  summoned  four  men  whom 
he  could  tnist,  and  without  weapons  they  started  on  the  night 
of  August  21st,  1831,  to  kill,  with  their  own  weapons,  all  the 
white  people  in  the  neighborhood.  They  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing nine  plantations  and  killing  fifty-one  persons,  when  the 
alarm  was  sounded  and  companies  of  infantry  and  cavalry 
were  soon  on  the  scene. 

The  name  of  Nat's  four  friends  were  Hark  Travers.  Samuel 
Edwards,  Henry  Porter  and  Nelson  Williams;  on  their  way 
to  the  first  plantation  they  were  joined  by  a  man  named 
"Will,"  whose  master  had  treated  him  with  great  cruelty  and 
had  sold  his  wife  to  the  traders.  Will  armed  himself  with,  a 
sharp  broad-ax  and  with  it  killed  several  people.  \\  hen  the 
militia  arrived  he  would  not  surrender,  but  fought  to  the  last 
and  when  dying  asked  that  his  ax  be  buried  with  him. 

Nat,  with  one  or  two,  escaped  to  the  swamps,  where  they  re- 
mained for  more  than  two  months.  When  he  had  surrendered 
and  was  brought  to  trial,  he  pleaded  "Not  guilty,"  and  insisted 
to  the  last  that  God  had  called  him  to  do  what  he  did. 

Mr.  Gray,  the  white  gentleman  to  whom  Nat  explained  his 
visions  and  belief,  said  of  him:  "It  has  been  said  that  he  was 
ignorant  and  cowardly,  and  that  his  object  was  to  murder  and 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  117 


rob,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  money  to  make  his  escape. 
It  is  notorious  that  he  was  never  known  to  have  a  dollar  in  his 
life,  to  swear  an  oath,  or  to  drink  a  drop  of  spirits.  As  to  his 
ignorance,  he  certainly  never  had  the  advantages  of  education, 
but  he  can  read  and  write,  and  for  natural  intelligence  and 
quickness  of  apprehension,  is  surpassed  by  few  men  I  have 
ever  seen.  As  to  his  being  a  coward,  his  reason  as  given  for 
not  resisting  Mr.  Phipps  shows  the  decision  of  his  character. 
When  he  saw  Mr.  Phipps  present  his  gun,  he  said  he  knew  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  escape,  as  the  woods  were  full  of 
men  ;  he  therefore  thought  it  was  better  for  him  to  surrender 
and  trust  to  fortune  for  his  escape." 

"He  is  a  complete  fanatic,  or  plays  the  part  most  admirably. 
On  other  subjects  he  possesses  an  uncommon  share  of  intelli- 
gence, with  a  mind  capable  of  attaining  anything,  but  warped 
and  perverted  by  the  influence  of  early  impressions.  He  is  be- 
low the  ordinary  stature,  though  strong  and  active,  having  the 
true  Negro  face,  every  feature  of  which  is  strongly  marked. 
I' shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  effect  of  his  narrative,  as 
told  and  commented  upon  by  himself  in  the  condemned  hole 
of  the  prison;  the  calm,  deliberate  composure  with  which  he 
spoke  of  his  late  deeds  and  intentions;  the  expression  of  his 
fiend-like  face,  when  excited  by  enthusiasm ;  still  bearing  the 
stains  of  the  blood  of  helpless  innocence  about  him,  clothed 
with  rags  and  covered  with  chains,  yet  daring  to  raise  his 
manacled  hands  to  Heaven  with  a  spirit  soaring  above  the  at- 
tributes of  man.  I  -looked  on  hi  n  and  the  blood  curdled  in  my 
veins."  •.■:-•.- 

Nat  Turner  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged,  and  the 
sentence  was  carried  out  at  Jerusalem,  Southampton  County. 
1831. 

As  you  have  heard,  whenever  a  territory  applied  to  Congress 
for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  state  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  state  should  be  a  free  or  a  slave  state  always 
brought  on  an  earnest  discussion.     When  Missouri  applied  the 


u8  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


question  was  voted  up  and  voted  down  in  the  House  and  Sen- 
ate for  nearly  three  years.  Finally,  it  was  agreed  that  Mis- 
souri should  be  admitted  as  a  slave  state,  but  that  all  lands 
lying  north  of  latitude  36  degrees,  30  minutes  should  be  for- 
ever free  and  this  agreement  was  known  as  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise.   Remember  this  for  you  will  hear  more  of  it  later. 

Many  earnest  people  thought  that  to  send  the  Negro  back  to 
Africa  was  the  best  way  to  solve  the  problem,  and  so  the 
American  Colonization  Society  was  formed  with  branches  in 
many  states.  A  number  of  slave  holders  freed  their  slaves  that 
they  might  return  to  their  native  land.  You  have  already 
heard  something  of  the  work  of  the  Colonization  Society  in 
Liberia. 

What  was  called  the  Underground  Railroad  was  not  rnu 
under  the  ground  nor  was  it  a  railroad.  It  was  the  name  given 
to  the  friends,  both  colored  and  white,  of  the  Negro,  whose 
homes  formed  a  chain  of  stopping  places  or  "stations"  be- 
tween the  slave  states  and  Canada  where  slavery  did  not  exist. 

A  large  volume  has  been  written  of  the  exciting  events  and 
the  hairbreadth  escapes  which  they  experienced  who  sought 
freedom  through  the  Underground  Railroad.  A  large  number 
of  the  members  of  the  U.  G.  R.  R.  were  Quakers,  and  all  who 
took  part  in  it  were  people  of  great  kindness  and  compassion, 
intelligence  and  ingenuity.  Someti  nes  men  slaves  were  dis- 
guised as  women,  sometimes  women  disguised  as  men ;  persons 
of  fair  complexion  passed  themselves  off  as  the  owners  of  the 
darker  skinned  runaways ;  some  with  the  help  of  friends,  were 
nailed  up  in  boxes  and  sent  as  freight,  and  the  whole  story  of 
the  U.  G.  R.  R.  showed  how  many  and  how  good  were  the 
white  friends  of  the  Negro  during  this  period. 

We  have  had  in  this  chapter  a  sketch  of  what  was  done  for 
and  against  the  Negro  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury ;  in  the  next  chapter  we  shall  hear  of  what  the  Negro  did 
for  himself  during  the  same  space  of  time. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


i»9 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  LIGHT  GROWS  BRIGHTER. 

T  THIS  period  (1800-50)  the  Xegroes  were  beginning  to 
better  understand  the  benefits  of  united  action,  and  their 
white  friends  gave  them  all  possible  support  and  encour- 


BISHOP   RICHARD  ALLEN 
Founder  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

agement.  A  number  of  Philadelphia  Xegroes  presented,  in 
1800,  through  Mr.  Wain,  the  delegate,  a  petition  to  Congress 
calling  attention  to  the  unlawful  dealing  in  slaves  which  was 
going  (in  between  several  American  ports  and  Guinea,  and 
stating  that  a  number  of  freedmen  had  been  kidnapped  and 


i2o  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


sold  into  slavery.  The  southern  delegates  were  very  indignant 
that  such  a  petition  should  have  been  presented.  However, 
the  petition  was  finally  referred  to  a  committee  which  brought 
in  a  bill  forbidding  American  vessels  to  carry  slaves  from  this 
country  to  foreign  markets. 

The  Negroes  of  Philadelphia  were  thoughtful  and  progres- 
sive and  in  1817,  they  held  a  local  convention  to  protest  against 
the  plans  of  the  American  Colonization  Society.  In  1830  Rev. 
Richard  Allen,  Junius  C.  Morel,  James  C.  Cornish,  Cyrus 
Black,  and  Benjamin  Pascal  requested  the  free  people  in  the 
several  states  to  send  delegates  to  a  meeting  called  for  Sep- 
tember 20,  1830.  The  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  discuss 
ways  and  means  for  the  establishment  of  a  colony  in  upper 
Canada.  The  delegates  met  and  recommended  that  a  parent 
society  be  formed  with  branches  in  different  towns  and  money 
be  raised  to  buy  a  tract  of  land  for  the  proposed  colony.  Agents 
were  sent  to  Canada  to  see  if  the  plan  wruld  be  advisable. 
Some  of  the  States  had  already  passed  laws  forcing  the  free 
Negroes  to  leave  and  many  of  these  exiles  had  made  their 
home  in  Canada. 

Consequently  what  was  called  the  "  First  Annual  Conven- 
tion of  the  People  of  Color"  met  in  Philadelphia,  June  6-11, 
1831,  in  the  Wesleyan  Church  on  Lombard  street.  The  dele- 
gates were  as  follows :  Philadelphia,  John  Bowers,  Dr.  Bel- 
fast Burton,  James  Cornish,  Junius  C.  Morel,  William  Whip- 
per.  New  York,  Rev.  William  Miller,  Henry  Sipkins,  Thomas 
L.  Jennings,  William  Hamilton,  James  Pennington ;  Mary- 
land, Rev.  Abner  Coker,  Robert  Cowley ;  Delaware,  Abraham 
D.  Shad,  Robert  Cowley ;  Virginia,  William  Duncan.  The 
officers  chosen  were  :  President,  John  Bowers ;  vice  presidents, 
Abraham  D.  Shad,  William  Duncan ;  secretary,  William  Whip- 
per ;  assistant  secretary,  Thomas  L.  Jennings.  The  stated  pur- 
pose of  the  meeting  was  to  discuss  the  general  condition  of 
free  Negroes. 

A  committee  made  a  report  in  which  those  who  were  engaged 
jn  the  Canadian  settlement  were  praised  and  urged  to  continue 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


the  work  ;  and  among  other  things,  the  virtues  of  education, 
temperance  and  economy  were  recommended  to  the  race.  "The 
convention  attracted  public  attention  on  account  of  the  intelli- 
gence, order  and  excellent  judgment  which  prevailed.  It  deeply 
touched  the  young  white  men  who  had,  but  a  few  months  pre- 
vious, enlisted  under  the  broad  banner  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
had  given  to  the  breeze." 

"  The  Rev.  S.  S.  Jocelyn,  of  Xew  Haven,  Conn. ;  Arthur 
Tappan,  of  Xew  York;  Benjamin  Lundy,  of  Washington, 
D.  C. ;  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  of  Boston,  Mass. ;  Thomas 
Shipley  and  Charles  Pierce,  of  Philadelphia,  visited  the  conven- 
tion, and  were  cordially  received."  Messrs.  Jocelyn,  Tappan 
and  Garrison  made  stirring  addresses  and  especially  urged  the 
establishment  of  a  college  for  the  education  of  colored  youth. 
A  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  matter  reported  as 
follows :  "  The  plan  proposed  is  that  a  college  be  established 
at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  as  soon  as  $20,000  are  obtained,  and  to 
be  on  the  manual  labor  system,  by  which,  in  connection  with 
a  scientific  education,  they  may  also  obtain  a  useful  mechanical 
or  agricultural  profession;  and  (they  further  report  having 
received  information )  that  a  benevolent  individual  has  offered 
to  subscribe  one  thousand  dollars  toward  this  object,  provided 
that  a  farther  sum  of  nineteen  thousand  dollars  can  be  obtained 
in  one  year." 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  received  and  adopted,  a 
soliciting  agent  and  a  treasurer  appointed  and  committees 
appointed  in  several  cities.  You  can  see  that  for  a  long  time 
the  subject  of  manual  training  has  engaged  the  attention  of 
thoughtful  people.  But  the  people  of  Connecticut  showed 
themselves  very  unfriendly  to  Xegro  schools  as  we  shall  pres- 
ently see,  and  the  idea  of  the  college  in  that  State  was  given 
up.  Nearly  every  year  during  this  period,  conventions  of 
colored  men  were  held  and  the  delegates  represented  the  intel- 
ligence, the  culture  and  the  learning  of  the  race  in  the  United 
States. 

In  the  town  of  Canterbury,  Conn.,  a  select  school  for  young 


122  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE^NEGRO 


ladies  was  established  in  the  summer  of  1832  by  Miss  Prudence 
Crandall,  a  Quaker  lady.  It  was  intended  to  give  instruction 
in  the  higher  branches  of  learning.  Not  long  after  the  school 
opened,  vSarah  Harris,  a  colored  girl  seventeen  years  old,  whose 
father  was  a  well-to-do  farmer  applied  for  admission  to  the 
school.  She  stated  that  she  had  finished  th<?  highest  grade  in 
the  village  schools  and  wanted  to  increase  her  knowledge  so  as 
to  teach  among  her  own  people. 

Miss  Crandall  admitted  Sarah  and  for  a  few  days  all  went 
well,  for  many  of  the  other  girls  had  knov  n  Sarah  in  the 
village  school  and  liked  her.  But  after  a  time  some  of  the 
parents  called  on  Miss  Crandall  and  objected  to  a  Negro  girl 
attending  a  private  school  with  their  children,  no  matter  how 
good  she  was  nor  h:gh  and  unselfish  her  aim.  But  Miss  Cran- 
dall was  firm  and  when  the  white  parents  withdrew  their  chil- 
dren she  advertised  to  teach  colored  girls. 

The  angry  parents  called  a  town  meeting  to  discuss  the  mat- 
ter and  a  set  of  resolutions  were  drawn  up  protesting  against 
the  founding  of  a  colored  school  in  their  neighborhood.  Never- 
theless Miss  Crandall  received  into  her  school  in  April,  1833, 
about  twenty  young  colored  girls  from  Boston,  Providence, 
New  York,  Philadelphia ;  but  the  storekeepers  refused  to  serve 
Miss  Crandall  and  her  pupils;  the  latter  met  with  insult,  con- 
tempt and  abuse  in  the  streets,  the  well  and  the  doorsteps  of 
the  house  were  filled  with  refuse  and  a  number  of  other  pettv 
meannesses  were  practiced,  but  Miss  Crandall  and  the  girls 
remained  firm. 

The  right-thinking  people  of  the  neighborhood  came  to  Miss 
Crandall's  suport,  among  then  being  the  Rev.  Samuel  May, 
Mr.  Arnold  Buffom,  Mr.  George  Benson  and  others.  But  a 
man  named  Judson,  a  citizen  of  Canterbury,  and  a  leading 
politician  of  the  State,  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  school  and 
he  so  exerted  his  influence  that  a  law  was  passed  forbidding  the 
founding  of  Negro  schools  anywhere  in  the  State.  This  law, 
which  was  called  a  "  black  law,"  reads  in  part  as  follows : 

"Be  it  enacted  that  no  person  shall  set  up  or  establish  in  this 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  123 


State  any  school,  academy  or  other  literary  institution  for  the 
instruction  or  education  of  colored  persons,  who  are  not  inhab- 
itants of  this  State,  or  harbor  or  board,  for  the  purpose  of 
attending  or  being  taught  in  any  such  school,  academy  or 
literary  institution,  any  colored  person  who  is  not  an  inhabi- 
tant of  any  town  in  this  State,  without  the  consent  in  writing, 
first  obtained,  of  a  majority  of  the  civil  authority,  and  also  of 
the  selectmen  of  the  town  in  which  the  school,  etc.,  is  situated." 
The  reason  for  the  law  was  that  the  whites  did  not  wish  the 
colored  population  to  increase  and  a  fine  was  attached  in  case 
the  law  was  violated.    The  law  was  passed  May  24,  1833. 

When  the  news  reached  Canterbury  that  the  law  had  passed, 
the  people  were  wild  with  joy,  bells  were  rung,  cannon  fired  as 
if  a  great  battle  had  been  won,  a  battle  with  a  whole  ^tate  on 
one  side  and  a  little  Quaker  teacher  and  twenty  children  on 
the  other.  Miss  Crandall  went  on  with  her  teaching  until  the 
latter  part  of  June,  when  she  was  arrested  and  after  a  brief 
hearing  she  was  committed  until  the  next  session  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  State,  in  August. 

Her  enemies,  knowing  that  to  put  her  in  jail  would  weaken 
their  cause  with  good  people,  hoped  that  her  friends  would  not 
allow  her  to  go  to  jail ;  but  they  hoped  in  vain  for  she  was 
taken  to  jail  and  placed  in  a  cell  where  a  murdered  had  been 
kept.  The  news  of  this  outrage  spread  throughout  the  north 
and  made  many  friends  for  Miss  Crandall  and  her  school. 
Next  day  bond  was  given  for  Miss  Crandall,  but  nothing  could 
undo  the  treatment  she  had  received ;  she  was  brought  to  trial 
August  23,  1833,  and  as  the  jury  could  not  agree,  she  was  again 
tried  in  October,  when  the  verdict  was  against  her.  Her  coun- 
sel appealed  to  the  Court  of  Errors,  but  the  case  was  finally 
dropped. 

A  short  time  afterward  Miss  Crandall's  house  was  set  afire, 
and  though  this  did  not  cause  her  to  close  the  school,  when  the 
building  was  again  attacked  by  a  mob  one  night  in  September 
and  the  doors  and  windows  broken  in,  it  was  thought  best  for 
the  pupil's  safety  to  give  up  the  effort.     Said  Mr.  May,  who 


124  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


at  Miss  Crandall's  request  dismissed  the  school,  "  Twenty 
harmless,  well-behaved  girls,  whose  only  offense  against  the 
peace  of  the  community  was  that  they  had  come  together 
there  to  obtain  useful  knowledge  and  moral  culture,  were  to  be 
told  that  they  had  better  go  away,  because,  forsooth,  the  house 
in  which  they  dwelt,  would  not  be  protected  by  the  guardians 
of  the  town.     The  words  almost  blistered  my  lips." 

Miss  Crandall's  school  was  closed  -but  efforts  to  educate  the 
Negro  were  made  in  other  States,  though  the  laws  of  the  sev- 
eral States  differed  widely.  In  some  States  the  teaching  of 
Negroes  was  strictly  prohibited,  among  these  were  Alabama, 
Georgia,  Louisiana,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Indiana, 
South  Carolina,  and  Virginia.  In  other  States,  while  educa- 
tion was  not  prohibited  by  law,  it  was  by  custom,  while  still 
other  States  tolerated  efforts  to  enlighten  the  Negro.  Those 
latter,  of  course,  were  the  States  where  the  white  people  were 
most  enlightened. 

You  have  read  of  the  splendid  work  of  Benezet  in  Philadel- 
phia. The  first  school  for  Negroes  in  New  York,  was  also 
started  by  a  native  of  France,  Elias  Neau,  in  1704.  In  his 
home  he  had  embraced  the  Protestant  faith,  and  being  exiled, 
took  up  his  abode  in  New  York.  His  heart  was  touched  by 
the  condition  of  the  Negroes,  and,  at  first,  he  taught  them  by 
going  from  house  to  house  after  his  day's  work  was  done. 
Later,  he  was  given  permission  to  have  them  meet  at  his  home 
in  the  evenings  and  in  1708,  the  average  attendance  was  two 
hundred  which  shows  how  his  work  was  appreciated.  Besides 
reading,  writing  and  arithmetic,  he  taught  his  pupils  the  truths 
of  the  Bible  and  many  became  communicants  of  Trinity  P.  E. 
Church,  while  the  Rev.  William  Yesey  was  rector.  In  spite  of 
many  hindrances,  Elias  Neau  continued  his  work  until  1722, 
"  when  amid  the  unaffected  sorrow  of  his  Negro  scholars  and 
the  friends  who  honored  him  for  their  sake,  he  was  removed 
by  death."  The  school  had  several  teachers,  chiefly  assistant 
rectors  of  Trinity,  who  kept  the  good  work  alive,  vear  after 
year. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  125 


In  1786,  a  school  was  opened  in  Cliff  street  and  in  1791,  a 
woman  was  engaged  to  teach  the  girls  needlework.  This  school 
had  manv  trials  and  in  1815;  the  schoolhonse  having  been 
burned  down,  a  substantial  brick  building  was  erected  in  Will- 
iam street  and  opened  for  colored  pupils.  The  number  of 
pupils  grew  so  rapidly  that,  in  1820,  another  school  was  opened 
on  Mulberry  street,  which  accommodated  five  hundred  children. 

General  Lafayette  visited  this  school  in  1824,  and  Master 
James  M.  Smith,  one  of  the  pupils,  aged  eleven  years,  came 
forward  and  made  the  following  speech : 

"  General  Lafayette :  In  behalf  of  myself  and  fellow-school- 
mates may  I  be  permitted  to  express  our  sincere  and  respectful 
gratitude  to  you  for  the  condescension  you  have  manifested 
this  day  in  visiting  this  institution,  which  is  one  of  the  noblest 
specimens  of  Xew  York  philanthrophy.  Here,  sir,  you  behold 
hundreds  of  the  poor  children  of  Africa  sharing  with  those  of 
a  lighter  hue  in  the  blessings  of  education ;  and  while  it  will  be 
our  pleasure  to  remember  the  great  deeds  you  have  done  for 
America,  it  will  be  our  delight,  also,  to  cherish  the  memory 
of  General  Lafayette  as  a  friend  of  African  emancipation,  and 
as  a  member  of  this  institution." 

In  1836,  Mr.  John  Peterson,  colored,  was  appointed  prin- 
cipal of  Colorado  Gra  nriiar  School  No.  1,  and  Mr.  R.  F.  Wake, 
also  colored,  principal  of  School  Xo.  2.  These  gentlemen 
served  with  great  success  and  when  in  1853,  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation established  a  colored  normal  school,  Mr.  Peterson  was 
appointed  principal  of  it. 

Some  of  the  educated  and  cultured  colored  men  of  New 
York  were:  "Dr.  Henry  Highland  Rarnett,  Dr.  Charles  B. 
Ray  and  the  Rev.  Peter  Williams  in  the  pulpit ;  Charles  L. 
Reason  and  William  Peterson  as  teachers;  James  McCune 
Smith  and  Philip  A.  White  as  physicians  and  chemists;  James 
Williams  and  Jacob  Day  among  business  men."  Rev.  Dr.  Alex 
Crummell  was  ordained  priest  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  IS  I  I.  In  1852  he  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Cambridge,  England.    After  fifty  years  as  a  minister  he  retired 


i26  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


from  active  service.     Peter  Ogden  founded  the  G.  U.  O.  O.  F. 
during  this  period. 

As  you  know,  the  women  of  our  race  have  from  the  begin- 
ning taken  part  in  every  movement  which  has  sought  to  uplift, 
so  when  the  Anti-Slavery  Women  of  America  met  in  New 
York  in  May,  1837,  colored  women  were  of  the  number.  Mary 
S.  Parker  was  chosen  president  of  the  convention,  Angelina  E. 
Grimke,  secretary,  and  Sarah  Douglas,  a  colored  woman,  was 
a  member  of  the  central  committee.  The  convention  sent  out 
a  circular  telling  of  its  object  and  plans  and  Sarah  Forten,  a 
colored  member,  composed  the  poem  with  which  the  circular 
ended.     It  reads  as  follows : 

"  We  are  thy  sisters.     God  has  truly  said 
That  of  one  blood  the  nations  He  has  made. 
O  Christian  woman  in  a  Christian  land, 
Canst  thou  unblushing  read  this  great  command? 
Suffer  the  wrongs  which  wring  our  inmost  heart, 
To  draw  one  throb  of  pity  on  thy  part? 
Our  skins  may  differ,  but  from  thee  we  claim 
A  sister's  privilege  and  a  sister's  name." 

In  Ohio,  the  first  schools  for  Xegroes  were  opened  in  1820, 
through  the  efforts  of  colored  men  of  Cincinnati,  foremost 
among  whom  was  Owen  T.  B.  Xickens.  Other  schools  were 
opened  later  and  were  supported  by  a  white  educational  society 
assisted  by  Xegroes  of  means,  Dennis  Hill,  William  O'Hara. 
John  Woodson.  Baker  Jones,  John  Liverpool  and  Joseph 
Fowler  being  among  the  latter. 

In  1833,  Oberlin  College  was  opened  and  from  the  first 
Xegro  students  were  well  received.  Some  of  the  earlier  grad- 
uates were  William  Howard  Day,  John  Mercer  Langston  and 
George  B.  Vashon. 

The  Cincinnati  High  School  for  colored  pupils  was  estab- 
lished in  1814  by  a  cultured  and  wealthy  white  gentleman,  the 
Rev.  Hiram  S.  Gilmore,  and  in  1850,  public  schools  for  colored 
children  were  opened.    On  account  of  some  defect  in  ttye  law, 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  127 


these  schools  were  closed  after  three  months,  and  the  teachers 
went  unpaid. 

A  mass  meeting  of  the  colored  people  was  called  by  John  I. 
Gaines,  a  brave  and  intelligent  Negro,  and  the  people  were 
urged  to  take  their  case  to  the  courts ;  they  did  so  and,  after  an 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  won  their  case.  But  there  was 
dissatisfaction  and  friction  with  regard  to  the  management  of 
the  schools  until  1856,  when  the  law  was  altered  and  the 
colored  people  were  given  the  right  to  elect  their  own  trustees, 
by  ballot.  Two  years  later,  Nicholas  Longworth  built  a  school- 
house  for  the  use  of  colored  people  and  leased  it  to  them  on 
condition  that  they  pay  for  it  in  fourteen  years. 

One  of  the  pupils  of  the  Cincinnati  schools  was  Moses  Dick- 
son. He  was  born  in  that  city  in  1824,  and  when  he  was  four- 
teen years  old,  his  mother  died ;  as  his  father  had  died  some 
years  before,  he  was  forced  to  help  support  himself.  He 
learned  to  be  a  barber  while  still  going  to  school  and  when  he 
was  sixteen,  he  went  to  work  on  a  steamboat.  For  three  years 
he  followed  this  occupation,  and  as  he  was  a  very  observant 
young  man,  the  condition  of  his  people  throughout  the  slave 
States  made  a  great  impression  on  him,  and  at  length  he 
resolved  to  find  a  way  to  help  them. 

In  the  early  part  of  1811,  when  only  twenty  years  old,  he 
called  together  at  St.  Louis,  eleven  other  earnest  young  men  and 
they  decided  to  organize  and  form  a  plan  to  help  the  slaves. 
They  knew  that  a  thing  of  that  kind  should  be  arranged  thor- 
oughly and  secretly,  so  they  separated  to  meet  again  in  two 
years  from  that  time.  Meanwhile  each  was  to  travel,  hear  and 
sec  as  much  as  possible,  so  as  to  be  able  to  make  wise  and 
helpful  suggestions.  Free  Negroes  traveling  in  this  country, 
at  that  time,  especially  in  the  slave  States,  ran  many  risks. 
They  might  be  captured  and  sold  as  slaves,  if  a  white  person 
attacked  or  beat  them,  they  had  no  redress,  and  if  they  were 
killed  little  would  be  said  about  it. 

But  these  young  men  were  brave,  fearless  and  determined. 
Dickson  made  a  trip  through  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Iowa,  and 


128  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


other  States  and  on  August  12,  1846,  the  twelve  friends  met 
again  in  St.  Louis.  They  called  themselves  the  Knights  of 
Liberty,  and,  after  talking  over  what  they  had  learned,  each 
one  went  out  as  an  organizer  to  form  societies  wherever  he 
could.  They  did  not  mean  to  spring  their  plan  for  ten  years, 
but  during  that  time  they  were  to  make  the  separate  bodies  as 
many  and  as  strong  as  possible.  While  doing  this,  they  worked 
with  the  Underground  Railroad  and  helped  thousands  of  slaves 
to  gain  freedom. 

When  the  ten  years  were  over,  it  could  readily  be  seen  that 
the  state  of  the  public  mind  was  such  that  all  the  slaves  would 
soon  be  free,  and  the  Knights  of  Liberty  did  not  attempt  to  put 
their  plans  into  action.  A  remarkable  thing  about  the  organ- 
ization was  that  for  years  no  outsider  knew  of  its  existence, 
nor  the  names  of  the  twelve  founders,  and  the  full  extent  of 
work  and  final  plans  of  the  Knights  were  never  made  known. 

After  the  civil  war  Dickson,  who  had  been  a  soldier,  and 
had  also  become  a  licensed  preacher  of  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  founded  a  beneficial  order  in  memory  of 
the  Twelve  Knights,  which  he  called  the  Order  of  Twelve  of 
the  Knights  and  Daughters  of  Tabor,  "  which  has  for  its  object 
the  encouragement  of  Christianity,  education,  morality  and 
temperance  among  the  colored  people."  The  Order  is  said 
to  have,  at  present,  more  than  sixty-five  thousand  members. 

In  Pennsylvania,  the  education  of  Negroes  was  greatly  as- 
sisted by  the  bequest  of  Benezet.  In  1787,  with  the  aid  of  five 
hundred  pounds  sterling  from  Thomas  Shirley,  a  colored  man, 
a  schoolhouse  was  erected.  In  1819,  a  committee  of  women 
Friends,  to  have  charge  of  the  admission  and  general  superin- 
tendence of  girls,  was  added  to  the  board  which  had  charge  of 
the  school. 

Other  buildings  were  erected,  and  in  1849,  statistics  showed 

that   "  there   was   one  grammar  school,   with  403   pupils,  two 

public  schools  with  339  pupils,  an  infant  school  under  charge 

*of  the  Pennsylvania  Abolition  Society,  with  70  pupils,  a  ragged 

school  and  a  moral-reform  school  with  81  pupils.     There  were 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  129 


about  twenty  private  schools  with  300  pupils,  making  an  aggre- 
gate of  more  than  1,300  children  receiving  an  education." 

Richard  Humphreys,  who  died  in  1832,  provided,  by  his 
will  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  establishment  of  an  Institute 
for  Colored  Youth  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  1837,  the  school  was 
opened.  By  the  terms  of  the  will,  the  money  was  placed  in 
charge  of  trustees  who  were  to  pay  it  over  to  any  society  that 
would  undertake  the  work.  An  association  was  formed  by 
thirty  Quakers,  for  the  purpose  and  they  stated  their  ideas  as 
follows :  "We  believe  that  the  most  successful  method  of 
elevating  the  moral  and  intellectual  character  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Africa,  as  well  as  of  improving  their  social  condition, 
is  to  extend  to  them  the  benefits  of  a  good  education,  and  to 
instruct  them  in  the  knowledge  of  some  useful  trade  or  busi- 
ness, whereby  they  may  be  enabled  to  obtain  a  comfortable 
livelihood  by  their  industry ;  and  though  these  means  to  prepare 
them  for  fulfilling  the  various  duties  of  domestic  and  social 
life  with  reputation  and  fidelity,  as  good  citizens  and  pious 
men." 

In  1835),  the  trustees  purchased  a  farm  in  Bristol  township 
and  boys  were  taught  farming,  shoemaking,  wheel w righting, 
blacksmithing,  etc.  Several  legacies,  including  one  from  Jona- 
than Zane,  were  added  to  the  school  funds  and  the  work  flour- 
ished for  about  seven  years,  when  it  came  to  a  standstill  and 
the  farm  was  sold.  In  1852,  the  work  was  again  started  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  under  the  management  of  Charles  L. 
Reason,  a  young  colored  man  of  New  York,  who  was  well 
educated  and  had  an  especial  fitness  for  this  work.  A  girls' 
school  was  started  under  the  same  management,  and  "  many 
worthy  and  competent  teachers  and  leaders  of  the  Negro  race 
came  forth  from  these  schools." 

In  1835  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  issued  the 
first  copy  of  the  Christian  Recorder.  Among  the  leading 
colored  men  of  Philadelphia  were  William  Whipper,  Stephen 
Smith,  Robert  Purvis,  William  Still.  Frederick  Ilinton  and 
Toseph  Cassey, 


130  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


The  three  pioneer  Negro  educators  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia knew  not  one  letter  of  the  alphabet,  but,  with  the  respect 
for  knowledge  which  characterizes  the  Negro,  they  planted 
that  others  might  reap.  George  Bell,  Nicholas  Franklin  and 
Moses  Liverpool  were  the  names  of  these  lovers  of  their  race, 
and  in  1807,  they  had  built  the  first  schoolhouse  for  colored 
children  and  hired  a  teacher.  But  there  were,  at  that  time,  only 
494  free  Negroes  in  the  city  and  it  was  not  an  easy  thing  for 
them  to  support  a  school,  so  it  was  closed  for  a  while. 

In  ISIS,  an  announcement  that  the  Resolute  Beneficial 
Society  would  open  "  a  school  for  the  children  of  free  people 
of  color,  and  others  that  ladies  and  gentlemen  may  think  proper 
to  be  instructed  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  English  gram- 
mar, etc.,  was  published  in  the  National  Intelligencer."  The 
advertisement  was  signed  by  William  Costin,  George  Hicks, 
James  Harris,  George  Bell,  Archibald  Johnson,  Fred  Lewis, 
Isaac  Johnson  and  Scipio  Beens. 

A  number  of  schools  for  colored  children  were  afterward 
opened  in  Washington,  by  both  white  and  colored  people.  John 
Adams  was  the  first  Negro  teacher.  Others  were  Mrs.  Anne 
Maria  Hall,  John  W.  Prout,  Lindsay  Muse,  John  Brown,  Ben- 
jamin McCoy,  Charlotte  Norris,  Sibby  McCoy,  John  F.  Cook, 
Catherine  Costin,  George  F.  T.  Cook,  Louise  Park  Costin, 
Martha  Costin,  James  Enoch  Ambush,  Maria  Becraft,  Mary 
Wormley,  Nancy  Grant,  Fanny  Hampton,  Dr.  John  N.  Fleet, 
Charles  H.  Middleton,  Alexander  Cornish,  Eliza  Anne  Cook, 
Annie  Washington,  Elizabeth  Smith,  Isabella  Briscoe,  Char- 
lotte Beans,  Rev.  James  Shorter.  A  large  number  of  pupils 
were  trained  under  these  teachers,  many  of  whom  have  proven 
an  honor  to  themselves  and  to  the  race. 

Primus  Hall,  an  intelligent  colored  man  of  Boston,  opened  in 
his  home  in  1798,  the  first  separate  school  for  Negro  children, 
and  the  teacher,  Elisha  Sylvester,  was  paid  by  the  parents  of 
the  children.  "In  1800,  sixty-six  colored  citizens  of  Boston 
presented  a  petition  to  the  school  committee,  praying  that  a 
school  might  be  established  for  their  benefit,"  but  the  town 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  131 


meeting  refused  to  grant  it.  In  1806  the  colored  Baptists 
arranged  for  a  school  room  in  the  basement  of  their  church 
in  Belknap  street  and  the  school  was  removed  from  Mr.  Hall's 
house  to  the  church. 

Abiel  Smith  left  a  sum  of  money  to  build  a  schoolhouse  for 
Negro  children  and  in  1835  this  building,  which  was  called  the 
Smith  schoolhouse.  was  erected.  Interesting  exercises  marked 
the  opening  of  the  school  and  the  address  of  the  occasion  was 
made  by  Hon.  William  Minot.  The  city  made  an  annual 
appropriation  of  two  hundred  dollars  and  the  parents  paid 
twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  week  for  each  child  who 
attended.  Among  those  who  taught  this  school  was  John  B. 
Russwurm. 

From  1820  to  1855  the  colored  children  of  Boston  attended 
separate  public  schools,  but  in  the  latter  year  a  law  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  which  forbade  any  distinction  being  made 
between  the  children  "  on  account  of  race,  color  or  religious 
opinion." 

John  Brown  Russwurm,  the  teacher  just  mentioned,  grad- 
uated from  Bowdoin  College  in  Maine  in  1826,  and  was  the 
first  of  his  race  in  America  to  be  so  honored.  It  was  through 
the  goodness  of  his  stepmother  that  he  was  supported  and 
encouraged,  and  his  career  at  college  justified  her  kindness. 
For  a  short  while  he  had  charge  of  Freedom's  Journal,  an  Abo- 
lition paper  published  in  Xew  York;  but  in  182!)  he  went  to 
Liberia  as  superintendent  of  public  schools.  After  holding 
other  public  positions  there  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Maryland  colony  at  Cape  Palmas,  which  place  he  held  until  his 
death  in  1851.  Governor  Russwurm  has  been  described  as 
follows : 

"He  was  a  man  of  erect  and  irore  than  ordinary  stature,  with 
a  good  head  and  face  and  large  keen  eye.  Of  sound  intellect, 
a  great  reader,  with  a  special  fondness  for  history  and  politics. 
Naturally  sagacious  in  regard  to  men  and  things,  a  man  of 
strict  integrity,  a  good  husband,  father  and  friend,  and  in 
later  life  a  devoted  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church," 


132  A  NARRATIVElOF  THE  NEGRO 


Other  prominent  Negroes  of  Boston  were  "  among  its  clergy- 
men, Leonard  Grimes  and  John  T.  Raymond ;  among  its  law- 
yers, Robert  Morris  and  E.  G.  Walker ;  among  its  business 
men,  J.  B.  Smith  and  Coffin  Pitts ;  among  its  physicians,  John 
R.  Rock  and  John  V.  DeGrasse ;  among  its  authors,  William 
W.  Brown  and  William  C.  Nell ;  among  its  orators,  Remond 
and  Hilton."  During  this  period  Alexander  Pouskin,  the  cele- 
brated Russian  writer  of  prose  and  poetry,  and  Alexander 
Dumas,  the  famous  French  novelist,  both  of  negro  descent, 
came  into  public  notice. 

In  Baltimore,  the  Oblate  Sisters  of  Providence,  colored 
women  who  were  refugees  from  San  Domingo,  opened  St. 
Francis  Academy  for  colored  girls  in  1829.  For  about  twelve 
years  before  that  time  there  had  been  sehools  also  supported 
by  the  Catholics. 

In  1835,  a  colored  man  named  William  Wells  opened  a 
free  school  for  colored  pupils,  and  upon  his  death  left  the 
sum  of  seven  thousand  dollars  for  the  support  of  the  work. 
The  Wells  school  rendered  good  service  to  the  race  and  com- 
munity. 

A  distinguished  Marylander  of  this  period  was  Ira  Aldridge, 
who  was  born  in  Belaire,  in  1810.  When  quite  a  young  man 
he  served  as  valet  for  Wallack,  the  actor  and  theatrical  man- 
ager. In  this  way  he  came  into  contact  with  the  theatrical 
world,  and  felt  himself  capable  of  becoming  an  actor.  Edmund 
Kean  recognized  his  ability  and  encouraged  him,  and  Aldridge 
went  to  England  where  he  appeared  in  several  plays.  As 
Aaron,  the  Moor,  in  Titus  Adronicus,  he  created  a  sensation, 
and  he  was  also  very  successful  in  his  interpretation  of  Shakes- 
pearian plays,  appearing  as  Othello  in  Covent  Garden  in  1833. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1867,  he  was  considered  the  greatest 
Othello.  Aldridge  was  highly  esteemed  and  greatly  honored 
by  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  receiving  from  them  many 
medals  and  other  decorations.  Sir  Ira  owned  nine  villas  in 
different  parts  of  Europe  and  was  said  to  have  been  worth 
more  than  $250,000. 

Perhaps  the  most  distinguished  son  of  Maryland  was  Fred" 
erick  Douglass,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  in  the  next  chapter, 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


133 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
FREDERICK  DOUGLASS— OTHER  NOTABLES. 


T 


HE  life  of  Frederick  Douglass  reads  like  a  romance,  at 
times  almost  tragic  in  its  development.  Born  on  the  for- 
saken Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  the  exact  date  of  his 


FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 


birth  unknown  to  him,  born  a  slave  and  suffering  all  which 
that  condition  entailed  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 


134  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


century,  he  lived  to  gain  the  respect  of  the  whole  enlightened 
world  and  the  admiration  and  friendship  of  rulers  of  the  earth. 

His  mother,  having  nothing  else  to  bestow  upon  him,  started 
him  off  in  life  with  the  resounding  cognomen  of  Frederick  Au- 
gustus Washington  Bailey.  This  name  his  companions  soon 
shortened  to  "Gus  Bailey,"  and  by  the  latter  title  he  was 
known  for  some  years.  While  still  very  young,  he  was  sepa- 
rated from  his  mother,  and  his  earliest  recollections  of  her 
were  that  she  would  often  steal  from  the  plantation  where  she 
worked,  miles  away,  and  would  come  to  see  him  in  the  middle 
of  the  night. 

Long  after  the  Civil  War,  Mr.  Douglass  once  told  the  fol- 
lowing story  of  his  life  to  the  pupils  of  a  colored  school  in 
Talbot  County,  Maryland,  the  county  in  which  he  was  born : 
"I  once  knew  a  little  colored  boy  whose  father  and  mother 
died  when  he  was  six  years  old.  He  was  a  slave  and  had  no 
one  to  care  for  him.  He  slept  on  a  dirt  floor  in  a  hovel  and 
in  cold  weather  would  crawl  into  a  meal  bag,  headforemost, 
and  leave  his  feet  in  the  ashes  to  keep  them  warm.  Often  he 
would  roast  an  ear  of  corn  and  eat  it  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  and 
many  times  has  he  crawled  under  the  barn  or  stable  and  se- 
cured eggs,  which  he  would  roast  in  the  fire  and  eat. 

"This  boy  did  not  wear  pants  like  you  do,  but  a  tow  linen 
shirt.  Schools  were  unknown  to  him,  and  he  learned  to  spell 
from  an  old  Webster's  spelling  book,  and  to  read  and  write 
from  posters  on  cellars  and  barn  doors,  while  boys  and  men 
would  help  him.  He  would  then  preach  and  speak,  and  soon 
became  well  known.  He  finally  held  several  high  positions 
and  accumulated  some  wealth.  He  wore  broadcloath  and  did 
not  have  to  divide  crumbs  with  the  dogs  under  the  table.  That 
boy  was  Frederick  Douglass. 

"What  was  possible  for  me  is  possible  for  you.  Do  not 
think  because  you  are  colored  you  cannot  accomplish  anything. 
Strive  earnestly  to  add  to  your  knowledge.  So  long  as  you 
remain  in  ignorance,  so  long  will  you  fail  to  command  the  re- 
spect of  your  fellow  men." 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  *35 


At  an  early  age  Frederick  Douglass  was  taken  to  Baltimore 
where  he  lived  with  members  of  the  Auld  family,  his  owners, 
When  about  sixteen  years  old,  he  was  sent  to  work  with  other 
slaves  on  the  farm  of  Edward  Covey,  and  it  was  here  that  he 
made  his  first  resistance  against  the  system  of  slavery  by  over- 
powering an  overseer  who  attempted  to  whip  him.  The  at- 
tempt was  not  made  again.  After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
escape  in  1836,  he  was  caught  and  sent  to  Baltimore.  But  his 
mind  was  made  up  to  flee  from  slavery  and  after  a  while  he 
escaped  to  New  York  and  later  to  New  Bedford,  Mass.  By 
this  time  he  had  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  above  all,  to 
think.  In  New  Bedford  he  changed  his  name  to  Frederick 
Douglass  and  here  also  he  was  wed  to  Miss  Anna  Murray,  a 
free  woman,  who  bore  him  several  children. 

In  1839,  Edwin  Thompson,  a  noted  Abolitionist,  traveled 
through  Massachusetts  making  speeches  in  the  anti-slavery 
cause.  Mr.  Douglass  was  present  at  one  of  these  meetings  held 
in  New  Bedford,  and  some  years  afterward  said  that  it  was 
Thompson  who  waked  him  up  on  the  subject  and  by  quoting 
some  of  Whittier's  poems,  inspired  him  and  made  him  feel, 
indeed,  a  new  man.  In  1811,  Mr..  Douglass  was,  after  much 
begging  and  persuading,  induced  to  relate  to  the  congregation 
of  the  Rev.  Thomas  James — himself  an  ex-slave — the  story  of 
his  experiences  in  slavery. 

This  was  his  first  public  talk,  and  though  his  audience  was 
small  and  humble,  it  is  said  that  he  was  very  nervous  and  ill  at 
ease.  This  man  who  was  destined  to  stir  the  world  by  his 
oratory,  was  at  first  overcome  by  timidity  at  the  thought  of 
addressing  an  audience  of  his  own  people.  But  once  started 
and  brought  to  realize  his  possession  of  the  divine  gift,  he 
went  on  from  triumph  to  triumph. 

Like  water  seeking  its  level,  he  made  one  acquaintance  after 
another  among  the  enlightened,  broadminded,  cultured  people 
of  Massachusetts ;  for  people  of  that  caliber  were  the  only 
ones  who  were  capable  of  appreciating  him.     lie  consorted 


136  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


with  the  noble  company  who  were  working  for  the  overthrow 
of  slavery — Wendell  Phillips,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Owen 
Lovejoy  and  many  others ;  and  since  he  realized  that  the  love 
of  freedom  is  not  bounded  by  sex,  he  threw  his  support  also 
to  the  cause  of  equal  suffrage,  and  was  the  friend  of  such 
noble  women  as  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Lucretia  Mott,  So- 
journer Truth,  the  Grimke  sisters,  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  a 
host  of  others. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  about  this  time,  the  "Jim  Crow" 
car  law  was  in  full  force  in  Massachusetts  and  colored  per- 
sons were  forced  to  travel  in  a  rough  car  with  hard  seats, 
much  as  in  the  case  in  the  Southern  States  today.  Those  who 
protested  against  this  and  entered  other  cars,  were  thrown  off 
bodily.  It  is  related  that  Air.  Douglass  was  frequently  thrown 
from  the  cars  and  that  on  one  occasion  in  Lynn,  four  seats 
were  broken  in  trying  to  get  him  out,  as  he  would  not  help 
himself  out.  And  this  reminds  me  of  an  incident  told  of  Mr. 
Douglass  and  the  Jim  Crow  cars  of  the  South. 

It  i>  >aid  that  on  a  certain  occasion,  he  had  an  engagement 
to  lecture  in  a  southern  city  and  toward  the  end  of  his  journey 
was  compelled  to  use  the  section  reserved  for  colored  people, 
which  in  this  case  was  an  end  of  a  freight  car.  This,  it  will 
easily  be  understood,  was  particularly  obnoxious  and  when  the 
delegation  which  went  to  meet  him  saw  him  in  such  surround- 
ings the)'  began  to  apologize  that  coming  to  them  had  caused 
him  to  be  so  humiliated  and  degraded.  Drawing  himself  up 
to  his  full  height,  the  grand  old  man  replied,  "Gentlemen,  by 
ignoble  actions  I  may  degrade  myself,  but  nothing  and  no  man 
can  degrade  Frederick  Douglass."  Those  words  should  never 
be  forgotten,  for  the  lesson  they  teach  is  worthy  of  imitation 
by  all.  Be  master  of  your  soul,  do  nothing  that  is  ignoble  and 
whenever  an  attempt  is  made  to  embarass  or  humiliate  you, 
you  will  be  able  to  treat  it  with  the  contempt  which  it  deserves. 

In  1845  Mr.  Douglass  went  to  Europe  to  lecture  on  slavery; 
on  the  trip  over  he  was  not  allowed  a  first  cabin  berth.  As  the 
ship  neared  her  journey's  end,  the  captain  gave  to  the  first 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  137 


cabin  passengers  a  complimentary  dinner,  after  which  some  of 
the  passengers  knowing  of  Douglass'  presence  on  board,  de- 
sired to  hear  him  speak.  As  soon  as  he  began  a  great  uproar 
was  started  by  those  who  at  heart  were  slaveholders,  and  there 
were  loud  cries  of  "Kill  him,"  "Throw  him  overboard,"  and 
for  a  time  he  was  in  great  danger.  The  captain,  however,  took 
his  part,  and  invited  those  who  did  not  wish  to  hear  Douglass 
to  leave  the  dining  saloon,  threatening  that  if  the  speaker  was 
again  interrupted,  every  one  of  the  disturbers  should  be  put  in 
irons.  Douglass  then  went  on  and  delivered  one  of  his  most 
telling  speeches. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  England  his  lectures  upon  slavery  were 
delivered  to  large  audiences  and  won  for  himself  and  for  his 
causes  many  friends.  A  purse  of  $7.50  was  made  up  by  his 
English  friends  to  purchase  his  liberty,  and  he  returned  to  this 
country  a  free  man. 

In  18.47  he  began  the  publication  of  a  newspaper,  "The 
North  Star,"  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  the  paper  was  widely 
read  by  lovers  of  liberty.  While  living  in  Rochester,  his  little 
daughter,  Rosetta,  applied  for  admission  to  the  public  schools. 
but  was  denied  admission  on  account  of  color.  Mr.  Douglass 
at  once  began  to  fight  the  silly  prejudice  and  did  not  rest  until 
"every  door  of  the  public  schools  of  Rochester  not  only  swung 
wide  open  to  the  admission  of  his  own  children,  but  to  every 
child  of  every  race." 

Mr.  Douglass  had  become  an  intimate  friend  of  John  Brown 
and  in  1859  a  despatch  was  sent  to  the  sheriff  of  Philadelphia, 
where  Mr.  Douglass  was  at  the  time,  to  arrest  him  for  co  n- 
plicity  in  the  John  Brown  raid.  The  telegraph  operator,  being 
a  friend  of  Douglass,  held  up  the  despatch  and  left  his  office  in 
search  of  Douglass'  friends,  advising  them  to  hurry  the  latter 
out  of  the  country.  This  they  did.  and  the  despatch  was  not 
delivered  until  Douglass  was  well  on  the  way  to  Rochester.  He 
reached  home  in  safety,  went  over  into  Canada,  thence  to  Eu- 
rope where  he  remained  until  danger  was  over. 


138  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  he  returned  to  this  coun- 
try and  helped  persuade  President  Lincoln  to  arm  the  Negroes ; 
the  colored  regiments  of  Massachusetts  were  raised  with  his 
active  assistance,  his  sons  becoming  members  of  the  famous 
54th  Massachusetts  Volunteers. 

Besides  his  splendid  work  in  other  directions,  Mr.  Douglass 
held  several  public  positions  of  honor  and  trust.  In  1871,  he 
was  appointed  assistant  secretary  to  the  Commission  to  San 
Domingo ;  upon  finishing  that  task,  he  was  appointed  a  member 
of  the  Upper  House  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  which  he  had  previously  chosen  for  his  per- 
manent home.  In  1872  he  was  presidential  elector-at-large 
for  the  state  of  New  York ;  he  was  successively  appointed 
United  States  Marshal  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  Recorder 
of  Deeds  for  the  same  place,  and  U.  S.  Minister  to  Haiti.  The 
sympathy  and  insight  which  he  showed  for  the  people  of  that 
Republic  endeared  him  to  them  and  his  memory  is  held  in 
greatest  reverence  by  all  patriotic  Haitians.  Mr.  Douglass 
was  married  in  1884  to  Miss  Helen  Pitts. 

Mr.  Douglass  died  at  his  home,  Cedar  Hill,  Anacostia,  D. 
C,  February  20th,  1895,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight.  An  im- 
mense throng  attended  the  funeral  services  and  many  glowing 
tributes  were  paid  to  his  worth.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton 
sent  a  letter  which  was  read  by  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony.  The 
following  is  an  extract:  "I  saw  Mr.  Douglass  first  before  a 
Boston  audience,  when  he  was  fresh  from  the  land  of  bond- 
age. He  stood  there  like  an  African  prince,  conscious  of  his 
dignity  and  power,  grand  in  his  physical  proportions,  majestic 
in  his  wrath,  as  with  keen  wit,  satire  and  indignation  he  por- 
trayed the  bitterness  of  slavery,  the  humiliation  of  having  been 
subject  to  those  who  in  all  human  virtues  and  capabilities  were 
inferior  to  himself.  His  denunciation  of  our  national  crime,  of 
the  wild  and  guilty  fantasy  that  men  could  hold  property  in 
man — poured  like  a  torrent  that  fairly  made  his  hearers 
tremble." 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  139 


'"Thus  I  first  saw  him  and  wondered  as  I  listened,  that  any 
mortal  man  should  have  ever  tried  to  subjugate  a  being  with 
such  marvellous  powers,  such  self  respect,  such  intense  love  of 
liberty.  Around  him  sat  the  great  anti-slavery  orators  of  the 
day,  watching  his  effect  on  that  immense  audience,  completely 
magnetized  with  his  eloquence ;  laughing  and  crying  by  turns 
with  his  rapid  flights  from  pathos  to  humor.  All  other  speak- 
ers seemed  tame  after  Douglass.  Sitting  near  I  heard  Wendell 
Phillips  say  to  Lydia  Maria  Child,  'Verily,  this  boy,  who  has 
only  just  graduated  from  slavery,  throws  us  all  in  the  shade.' 
'Ah,'  she  replied,  'the  iron  has  entered  his  soul  and  he  knows 
the  wrongs  of  slavery  subjectively;  the  rest  of  you  speak  only 
from  an  objective  point  of  view.'  " 

SOJOURNER  TRUTH. 

One  of  the  colored  women  who  came  into  prominence  during 
the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  Isabella  Ardinburg, 
born  a  slave  in  New  York.  By  the  Gradual  Emancipation  Act, 
she  was  entitled  to  her  freedom  in  1828,  but  as  often  happened 
in  these  days,  she  was  twice  sold  in  spite  of  the  act.  Isabella 
settled  the  matter  by  running  away.  She  gave  herself  the  sin- 
gular name  of  Sojourner  Truth,  claiming  that  God  had  com- 
missioned her  to  be  a  traveler  or  sojourner  and  that  as  she 
went  from  place  to  place  she  was  to  preach  and  teach  the  truth. 

She  could  neither  read  nor  write,  but  having  a  splendid  mem- 
ory, all  that  was  read  in  her  hearing  became  a  part  of  her,  and 
as  she  was  remarkably  intelligent  she  made  the  most  of  all  she 
received.  It  is  said  that  she  could  quote  passage  after  passage 
of  Scripture  and  could  aptly  apply  it  to  the  affairs  of  every- 
day life.  She  was  active  in  all  good  works,  and  was  a  forceful 
and  magnetic  speaker  having  the  happy  faculty  of  expressing 
a  powerful  thought  in  a  few  words.  She  was  in  great  demand 
at  Woman  Suffrage  and  Anti-Slavery  meetings. 

Her  unwavering  trust  in  God  made  her  a  power  among  the 
people,  in  spite  of  her  ignorance  of  books,  and  during  the  Civil 


14°  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


War  she  gave  great  assistance  to  the  soldiers.  After  the  war, 
she  formed  the  idea  that  the  freedmen  would  be  much  better 
off  as  colonists  in  the  West,  and  while  on  her  travels  obtained 
many  signatures  to  a  petition  to  Congress  asking  that  body  to 
take  some  steps  in  the  matter.  Congress  failed  to  act,  but  So- 
journer persuaded  a  large  number  of  individuals  to  follow  her 
suggestion. 

Some  years  before  the  war  she  was  present  at  a  meeting  in 
Rochester  when  Frederick  Douglass,  saddened  and  discour- 
aged by  the  operation  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  was  making  a 
very  gloomy  speech.  Suddenly  Sojourner  arose  and  said, 
"Frederick,  is  God  dead?"  The  effect  of  her  question  was 
magical,  and  Douglass  immediately  began  to  .speak  in  a  more 
hopeful  tone,  finally  making  one  of  the  best  speeches  of  his  life. 
"A  short  time  before  her  death  in  1883,  she  claimed  to  be  more 
than  one  hundred  years  old ;  but  at  that  time  she  seemed  to  he 
renewing  her  youth,  as  some  of  the  failing  senses  grew  strong 
again,  and  her  power  as  a  speaker  was  not  abated."  Because 
of  her  wisdom  and  the  pointed  brevity  with  which  she  ex- 
pressed herself,  Sojourner  Truth  was  called  the  Libyan  Sibyl. 

HARRIET  TUBMAN. 

Harriet  Tubman,  born  Arminta  Ross,  who  still  lives  ( Febru- 
ary, 1912),  is  another  strong  character  who  becaue  far.ous 
during  this  period.  She  was  married  in  1841  to  a  free  Negro 
named  John  Tubman.  She  was  a  slave  in  Maryland,  but  de- 
cided that  she  would  not  remain  in  that  condition.  Having 
made  her  escape  to  freedom,  she  was  not  satisfied,  but  deter- 
mined to  rescue  her  parents  and  as  many  of  her  former  com- 
panions as  she  could  by  making  personal  visits  to  her  old  home. 

"Her  success  was  wonderful.  Time  and  again  she  would 
visit  Maryland  and  be  absent  for  weeks,  running  daily  risks 
while  making  preparations  for  herself  and  her  passengers  on 
the  Underground  Railroad.  Great  fears  were  entertained  for 
her  safety,  but  she  seemed  wholly  devoid  of  personal  fear.  The 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  141 


idea  of  being  captured  by  slave  hunters  or  slaveholders,  seemed 
never  to  enter  her  mind.  Half  of  her  time  she  had  the  appear- 
ance of  one  asleep,  and  would  actually  sit  down  by  the  roadside 
and  go  fast  asleep  when  on  her  errands  of  mercy  through  the 
South,  yet  she  would  not  suffer  one  of  her  party  to  whimper 
once,  however  wearied  they  might  be  from  hard  travel  day  and 
night."  A  reward  of  $40,000  was  offered  for  her  capture  but 
she  laughed  when  it  was  read  to  her  by  one  whom  she  was 
helping  to  escape. 

Harriet  had  a  very  short  and  pointed  rule  of  her  own,  which 
implied  death  to  any  who  talked  of  giving  out  and  going  back. 
Of  course  Harriet  was  supreme,  her  followers  called  her 
"Moses"  and  had  full  faith  in  her ;  so  when  she  said  to  them 
that  "a  live  runaway  could  do  great  harm  by  going  back,  but 
that  a  dead  one  could  tell  no  secrets,"  she  was  sure  to  have  obe- 
dience. It  is  obvious,  however,  that  her  success  in  going  into 
Maryland  as  she  did,  was  attributable  to  her  adventurous  spirit 
and  utter  disregard  of  consequences.  Her  like,  it  is  probable, 
was  never  known  before  or  since. 

It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion,  while  walking  down  the  road 
near  her  old  home,  she  met  her  ex-master  face  to  face.  Her 
presence  of  mind  did  not  fail  her,  but  drawing  her  sunbonnet 
well  over  her  face,  she  caused  a  bunch  of  chickens  which  she 
was  carrying,  to  keep  up  such  a  flutter  that  the  man  passed  her 
by  without  dreaming  of  who  she  was. 

At  one  time,  up  in  the  state  of  New  York,  a  colored  man  was 
being  sought  by  slave  catchers,  under  the  fugitive  slave  law. 
Harriet  Tubman  came  up  just  as  they  were  taking  the  man  to 
be  locked  up.  She  at  once  took  command  of  the  crowd  of 
sympathetic  bystanders  and  by  her  great  courage,  nimble  wit 
and  physical  strength  caused  the  man  to  be  rescued. 

Like  Sojourner  Truth,  Harriet  Tubman  did  not  allow  her 
interest  in  her  race  to  end  with  slavery,  but  in  many  ways 
busied  herself  in  their  behalf.  At  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  she  founded 
a  home  for  the  homeless  and  while  her  strength  lasted  she 


142  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


ministered  to  the  necessities  of  those  within  her  gates.  At 
first  the  Harriet  Tubman  home  consisted  of  a  brick  house  and 
seven  acres  of  land ;  at  present  there  are  two  other  houses  and 
a  total  of  twenty-six  acres  of  ground.  Aunt  Harriet,  who  is 
said  to  be  nearly  one  hundred  years  old,  is  a  tenderly  cared  for 
inmate  of  the  home  and  receives  a  small  pension  from  the  gov- 
ernment as  well  as  help  from  her  own  people,  the  Empire  State 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  contributing  a  generous  share. 
Harriet  was  personally  acquainted  with  John  Brown  who  in- 
troduced her  to  Wendell  Phillips  as  "  General  Tubman,  one  of 
the  bravest  and  best  persons  on  the  continent."  During  the 
Civil  War  she  acted  as  nurse,  spy  and  scout  in  the  Union  Army. 

FRANCES  ELLEN  WATKINS  HARPER. 

In  contrast  to  the  two  women  just  mentioned,  Frances  Ellen 
Watkins  was  born  free  and  had  in  her  youth  some  advantages 
of  education.  She  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  1825,  and  having 
lost  her  parents  when  very  young,  she  was  reared  by  an  aunt. 
Her  uncle,  William  Watkins,  taught  a  private  school,  and  to 
this  school  Frances  went  until  she  was  thirteen  years  old.  She 
then  went  to  work  for  a  lady  who  owned  quite  a  library  and 
who  took  quite  an  interest  in  Frances  and  allowed  her  to  read 
any  book  in  the  library  during  her  spare  time,  "except  a  novel." 

Frances  preferred  reading  to  anthing  else  and  eagerly  took 
advantage  of  her  opportunities.  She  soon  began  to  make 
rhymes  and  before  she  was  twenty-one,  she  had  written  a  num- 
ber of  pieces,  both  prose  and  poems.  In  1846,  they  were  pub- 
lished in  a  little  book  called  "Forest  Leaves."  One  of  the 
poems,  called  Ethopia,  was  printed  at  the  time  in  an  English 
journal.    It  read  as  follows : 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  143 


ETHIOPIA. 

Yes,  Ethiopia  yet  shall  stretch. 

Her  bleeding  hands  abroad ; 
Her  cry  of  agony  shall  reach 

The  burning  throne  of  God. 

The  tyrant's  yoke  from  off  her  neck, 

His  fetters  from  her  soul, 
The  mighty  hand  of  God  shall  break 

And  spurn  the  base  control. 

Redeemed  from  dust,  and  freed  from  chains, 

Her  sons  shall  lift  their  eyes; 
From  lofty  hills  and  verdant  plains 

Shall  shouts  of  triumph  rise. 

Upon  the  dark  despairing  brow, 

Shall  play  a  smile  of  peace ; 
For  God  shall  bend  unto  her  woe, 

And  bid  her  sorrows  cease. 

'Neath  sheltering  vines  and  stately  palms 

Shall  laughing  children  play ; 
And  aged  sires,  with  joyous  psalms, 

Shall  gladden  every  day. 

Secure  by  night  and  blest  by  day, 

Shall  pass  her  happy  hours ; 
No  human  tigers  hunt  for  prey 

Within  her  peaceful  bowers. 

Then,  Ethiopia,  stretch,  O,  stretch, 

Thy  bleeding  hands  abroad  ; 
Thy  cry  of  agony  shall  reach 

And  find  the  throne  of  God, 


M4  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


Leaving  Baltimore  in  1851,  Miss  Watkins  resided  first  in 
Ohio  and  then  in  Pennsylvania,  teaching  school  in  both  states. 
But  the  sight  of  a  man  who  had  been  captured  and  brutally 
treated  under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  caused  her  to  feel  that 
she  could  do  more  good  as  a  lecturer  in  the  Anti-Slavery  cause, 
and  in  1854  she  began  that  work  in  New  Bedford.  Her  first 
lecture  was  called  the  Education  and  the  Elevation  of  the  Col- 
ored Race.  Her  engagement  lasted  for  about  eighteen  months 
and  during  that  time,  she  spoke  in  nearly  all  of  the  New  Eng- 
land states,  addressing  her  audiences  upon  various  phases  of 
the  subject  so  dear  to  her  heart. 

She  then  visited  the  nourishing  colony  of  Negroes  in  Upper 
Canada.  She  became  a  warm  friend  of  Mrs.  John  Brown  and 
spent  two  weeks  at  the  home  of  the  latter  during  the  sad  time 
that  the  Hero  of  Harpers  Ferry  was  waiting  to  be  executed. 
In  I860  Miss  Watkins  was  married  to  Mr.  Fenton  Harper  of 
Ohio,  but  household  duties  did  not  entirely  prevent  her  keep- 
ing up  her  literary  work  and  following  the  course  of  public 
events.    After  a  happy  married  life  her  husband  died  in  1864. 

Upon  the  issuing  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  Mrs. 
Harper  was  invited  to  address  a  public  meeting  in  Columbus, 
and  from  that  time  on  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  writ- 
ing, lecturing  or  ministering  in  other  ways  to  the  needs  of  our 
people.  Throughout  the  southern  states  she  went,  carrying  a 
loving  heart,  a  cultivated  mind  and  an  unconquerable  soul.  She 
plead  the  cause  of  temperance,  industry,  thrift  and  equal  op- 
portunity. Many  times  she  was  advised  to  abandon  a  lecture, 
as  to  give  it  might  be  dangerous,  but  she  never  took  such  ad- 
vice.   As  a  temperance  lecturer  she  was  said  to  be  unsurpassed. 

A  southern  white  man  who  once  heard  her,  described  her  as 
follows:  "Her  voice  was  remarkable — as  sweet  as  any  wo  nan's 
voice  we  ever  heard,  and  so  clear  and  distinct  as  to  pass  every 
syllable  to  the  most  distant  ear  in  the  house.  The  speaker  left 
the  impression  on  our  mind  that  she  was  not  only  intelligent 
and  educated,  but,  the  great  end  of  education,  she  was  enlight- 
ened.   She  comprehends  perfectly  the  situation  of  her  people, 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  145 


to  whose  interests  she  seems  ardently  devoted."  "Get  land," 
she  said,  "every  one  that  can,  and  as  fast  as  yon  can.  A  land- 
less people  must  be  dependent  upon  the  landed  people.  A  few 
acres  to  till  for  food  and  a  roof,  however  humble,  over  your 
head,  are  the  castles  of  your  independence." 

Mrs.  Harper  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1911,  full  of  years  and 
honors.  Her  own  words,  written  in  1871,  seem  her  most  fitting 
epitaph:  "But  after  all,  what  matters  it  when  I  an  in  my 
grave,  whether  I  have  been  rich  or  poor,  loved  or  hated,  de- 
spised or  respected,  if  Christ  will  only  own  me  to  His  Father, 
and  I  be  permitted  to  a  place  in  one  of  His  mansions  of  rest." 


146 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
AN  EVENTFUL  DECADE. 

1A  HE  years  from  1850  to  I860  were  to  the  Negro  full  of  inter- 
esting and  important  events.    In  1850  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  was  passed,  which  allowed  owners  to  hunt  for  and 
claim  their  runaway  slaves  in  any  part  of  the  Union.  By  this  time 


JOHN   BROWN  AT   HARPER'S  FERRY. 

there  were  hundreds  of  fugitives  who  had  found  freedom  and 
made  homes  for  themselves  in  the  northern  and  western  States 
and  this  law  carried  terror  to  their  souls.  As  many  as  could 
do  so,  fled  to  Canada,  hut  numbers  of  those  who  had  for  years 
enjoyed  the  blessings  of  liberty  were  claimed  and  dragged  back 
into  slavery.     This  law  became  a  broad  cover,  under  which  the 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  147 


kidnapping  of  free  persons  of  color  was  extensively  carried  on, 
and  scores  of  men,  women  and  children,  born  free  were 
dragged  from  their  homes  and  consigned  to  hopeless  bondage. 

On  some  occasions  pitched  battles  were  fought  between 
the  fugitives  and  their  owners,  "  every  man  was  compelled  to 
become  a  slave  hunter,  under  certain  conditions,  and  every 
kind-hearted  woman  who  might  give  a  cup  of  cold  water  or 
the  shelter  of  a  roof  to  a  suffering  sister  fleeing  from  intoler- 
able bondage,  incurred  the  penalty  of  a  felony." 

But  though  the  operation  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  dark- 
ened this  whole  decade,  there  was  here  and  there  a  gleam  of 
l'ght  amid  the  darkness.  In  18513  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe 
began  to  publish,  in  serial  form,  in  the  National  Era.  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.j  her  epoch-marking  story  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin. 
From  the  beginning  the  story  aroused  the  most  intense  interest, 
and  when  it  was  published  in  book  form,  it  was  translated  into 
nearly  every  known  language.  The  little  author  became  famous 
and  thousands  of  friends  were  made  for  the  slave  through  this 
book.     It  hastened  emancipation. 

Colored  authors  of  the  period  were  Rev.  Daniel  Payne,  Mar- 
tin R.  Delaney,  Frederick  Douglass,  Rev.  Samuel  Ringgold 
Ward,  William  C.  Nell,  Rev.  Austin  Stewart,  Dr.  William 
Wells  Brown. 

About  this  time,  the  Negro  began  to  take  his  place  in  the 
musical  world  and  again  a  woman  led  the  way.  Elizabeth 
Taylor  was  born  in  Natchez,  Miss.,  in  1809,  and  was  taken  to 
Philadelphia  by  Mrs.  Greenfield,  a  Quaker  lady.  After  a  time 
it  was  discovered  that  Elizabeth  had  a  beautiful  voice  and  a 
kind  young  lady,  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Greenfield's  gave  her  vocal 
and  instrumental  lessons.  Elizabeth,  who  added  Mrs.  Green- 
field's name  to  her  own,  gained  quite  a  name  as  a  singer,  and 
in  1851  accepted  an  invitation  to  sing  before  the  Musical  Asso- 
ciation of  Buffalo.  Her  voice  was  described  by  musical  critics 
of  the  time,  as  being  "  full,  round,  of  immense  compass  and 
depth  and  remarkable  sweetness  ;  her  pronunciation  very  cor- 
rect and. her  intonation  excellent.     She  plays  with  ability  upon 


148  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


the  piano,  harp  and  guitar."  In  compliment,  she  was  called  the 
Black  Swan. 

"  After  singing  in  nearly  all  the  free  States  she  resolved  to 
carry  out  her  long-entertained  purpose  of  visiting  Europe  in 
order  to  perfect  herself  in  the  technique  of  her  art."  Arrived 
in  London,  May,  1853,  she  called  upon  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe, 
who  was  also  in  the  city  at  the  time.  Through  Mrs.  Stowe 
Miss  Greenfield  was  introduced  into  the  most  exclusive  English 
circles,  and  on  one  occasion  she  sang  before  the  Queen.  Her 
beautiful  voice  and  modest,  dignified  bearing  gained  many 
friends  for  her  as  well  as  for  the  race.  Upon  her  return  to 
America,  her  voice  showed  remarkable  improvement,  due  to 
the  additional  training  which  she  had  received,  and  until  her 
death  in  1870,  she  devoted  herself  to  her  art. 

Thomas  J.  Bowers,  of  Philadelphia,  styled  "  the  colored 
Mario,"  and  his  sister,  Sarah  Sedgwick  Cowers,  were  famous 
music'ans  of  this  period,  the  former  appearing  with  the  Black 
Swan  in  1851.  Justin  Holland,  of  Norfolk  county,  Ya.,  per- 
former on  the  piano,  guitar  and  flute ;  Henry  Williams,  of 
Boston,  composer  and  bandmaster ;  the  Lucca  family  of  Con- 
necticut, all  became  famous  during  this  decade.  The  Luccas 
toured  for  a  while  with  the  famous  Hutchinson  family,  a  group 
of  white  musicians. 

In  1854-  Dred  Scott,  a  Negro,  sued  for  his  freedom  because  of 
having  been  taken  by  It's  master  from  Missouri  to  Minnesota, 
which  latter  State  had  been  made  free  territory  by  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise.  The  case  being  decided  for  Scott  was 
appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  in- 185(1,  and  Judge  Taney,  a 
Maryland  slaveholder,  there  rendered  his  infamous  decision 
to  the  effect  that  Negroes  "  were  beings  of  an  inferior  order 
and  altogether  unfit  to  associate  with  the  white  race,  either  in 
social  or  political  relations  ;  and  so  far  inferior  that  they  had 
no  rights  which  the  white  man  was  bound  to  respect."  The 
effect  of  this  decision  upon  the  Negroes  and  their  white  friends 
may  better  be  imagined  than  described.  It  was  a  milestone 
toward  the  inevitable  end. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  149 

Efforts  were  still  being  made  to  educate  the  Negro.  Abo- 
litionists were  still  trying  to  free  him,  and  he  was  still  trying 
to  help  himself.  Xegro  churches  were  endeavoring,  as  they 
had  from  their  organization,  to  serve  as  levers  for  moral  and 
spiritual  uplift. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Avery,  of  Xew  York,  left  at  his  death,  a 
large  sum  for  the  benefit  of  the  race  in  Africa  and  America. 
He  also  left  $25,000  as  an  endowment  fund  for  the  college 
which  he  had  founded  in  Allegheny  City  and  which  bears  his 
name.  In  1856,  what  was  then  called  Ashmun  Institute,  but  is 
now  known  as  Lincoln  University,  was  formally  dedicated. 
It  is  situated  in  Chester  county.  Pa.,  and  was  founded  for  the 
"  scientific,  classical  and  theological  education  of  colored  youth 
of  the  male  sex." 

In  the  summer  of  1856  the  Cincinnati  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  decided  to  establish  a  university 
for  the  education  of  colored  youth.  Its  board  of  trustees  con- 
sisted of  twenty-four  members,  four  of  whom  were  colored. 
The  latter  were  Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  Rev.  Lewis  Woodson, 
Mr.  Alfred  Anderson,  and  Mr.  Ishmael  Keith.  The  school  was 
dedicated  in  October,  185(5,  and  remained  open  until  1862. 
Colored  Methodists  bought  the  land  and  buildings  in  1863  for 
$10,000,  and  the  growth  of  the  institution  under  their  manage- 
ment is  a  credit  to  their  church  and  their  race. 

Charles  Sumner,  the  learned  and  distinguished  senator  from 
Massachusetts  and  the  unfailing  friend  and  defender  of  the 
slave,  was  on  May  22,  1856,  struck  down  and  beaten  with  a 
cane  while  sitting  at  his  desk  in  the  Senate  room.  His  assail- 
ant was  a  member  from  South  Carolina,  who  had  taken  offence 
at  a  speech  made  by  Senator  Sumner.  It  is  said  the  latter 
never  fully  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  assault;  he  died 
in  Washington  in  1871. 

A  colored  woman,  having  been  put  off  a  street  car  in  New 
York  on  account  of  her  color,  employed  Hon.  Chester  A. 
Arthur  as  lawyer  and  entered  suit  against  the  company.     She 


15°  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


won  her  suit,  and  by  the  decision  then  given,  no  discrimination 
in  public  conveyances  was  afterward  allowed  in  the  State. 

■The  members  of  the  Underground  Railroad  were  especially 
active  during  this  decade  in  defiance  of  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law.  Besides  those  already  named  the  following  took  earnest 
interest  in  this  work :  Charles  Wise,  Edwin  Coates,  Esther 
Moore,  Abigail  Goodwin,  Daniel  Gibbons,  Lucretia  Mott, 
Thomas  Garrett,  James  Mott,  J.  Miller  McKim,  Rev.  William 
Furness.  William  Wright,  Elijah  Pennypacker,  Dr.  Barthole- 
riiew  Fussed,  John  Hunn,  Samuel  Rhoades,  Grace  Anne, 
Miriann  and  Elizabeth  Lewis,  John  Xeedles,  Thomas  Shipley 
and  ethers.  Prominent  among  the  colored  members  were: 
William  Still,  for  many  years  secretary  of  the  Philadelphia 
Vigilance  Committee,  and  author  of  a  book  containing  the 
records  of  the  Underground  Railroad ;  X.  W.  Depee,  Jacob 
White,  Robert  Purvis,  William  Whipper,  Samuel  Burris 
Frances,  E.  W.  Harper  and  many  others. 

Another  true  friend  was  Miss  Myrtilla  Miner,  who  was  born 
in  Brookfield,  Madison  count}',  X.  Y.,  March  4,  1815.  In 
person  she  was  very  frail  and  spent  several  of  her  early  years 
as  an  invalid,  but  her  strong  and  beautifuul  spirit  upheld  her 
and  enabled  her  to  acquire,  after  many  difficulties,  a  sound 
education.  It  was  this  spirit  which  helped  her  to  accomplish 
what  later  became  a  master  passion  —  the  founding  of  a  school 
for  the  education  of  colored  youth. 

As  governess  to  the  children  of  a  Mississippi  planter,  she 
came  to  understand  the  horrors  of  slavery  and  its  blighting 
effect  upon  both  races.  She  saw,  too,  the  pitiable  condition  of 
free  colored  people  and  realized  that  to  educate  them  was  to 
do  them  the  greatest  kindness.  Accordingly,  though  friends 
advised  against  it  she  determined  to  establish  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  a  school  for  free  colored  girls. 

When  in  Rochester,  visiting  friends,  she  went  to  see  Fred- 
erick Douglass  and  told  him  of  her  plan.  He  did  all  he  could 
to  prevent  the  attempt,  as  she  seemed  so  fragile  and  he  knew 
full  well  what  she  would  have  to  undergo  in  such  a  cause.    But 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


nothing  could  deter  Miss  Miner  and  she  came  to  Washington 
and  opened  her  school  with  six  pupils,  in  the  home  of  Edward 
C.  Younger,  a  colored  man,  who  lived  on  Eleventh  street  near 
Xew  York  avenue. 

There  were  in  Washington  at  that  time,  about  ten  thousand 
colored  free  people  and  about  three  thousand  six  hundred 
slaves.  The  number  of  Miss  Miner's  pupils  rapidly  increased 
and  she  was  compelled  to  remove  several  times.  Finally,  after 
many  struggles  and  trials,  she  bought  in  1853  with  the  help  of 
friends,  a  lot  containing  three  acres,  bounded  by  Mew  Hamp- 
shire avenue  and  N  street  and  Nineteenth  and  Twentieth 
streets.  There  were  two  small  frame  houses  on  the  lot,  the 
whole  costing  forty-three  hundred  dollars.  Mrs.  Harriet 
Beecher  Stowe  gave  toward  its  purchase  one  thousand  dollars 
of  the  money  she  received  from  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  and  other 
friends  gave  largely.  But  Miss  Miner  was  not  allowed  to  teach 
her  school  in  peace.  Rowdies  gave  her  constant  annoyance, 
often  gathering  as  the  girls  passed  out  to  go  home,  and  insulting 
and  terrifying  them.  Once  her  house  was  set  on  fire,  but  a 
passerby  awoke  her  and  helped  to  put  it  out.  Stones  were 
frequently  thrown  at  her  windows  in  the  night  time  and  she 
was  otherwise  annoyed.  At  one  time  in  answer  to  threats  of 
violence  she  fearlessly  and  indignantly  exclaimed,  "  Mob  my 
school!  You  dare  not!  If  you  tear  it  down  over  my  head, 
1  shall  get  another  house.  There  is  no  law  to  prevent  my 
teaching  these  people,  and  I  shall  teach  them,  even  unto  death." 
So  brave  and  so  magnificent  was  the  soul  within  that  frail 
body. 

In  1857,  the  Mayor  of  Washington  began  to  oppose  Miss 
Miner's  work  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  that  the  school  would 
be  closed,  but  that  danger  passed.  In  1863,  by  act  of  Congress 
the  Institute  for  the  Education  of  Colored  Youth  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  was  incorporated  with  the  following  as  trus- 
tees :  Henry  Addison.  J.  C.  Underwood,  G.  J.  Abbott,  W.  H. 
Planning,  Nancy  M.  Johnson  and  Myrtilla  Miner.     The  first 


iS2  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


lot  purchased  was  sold  for  nearly  ten  times  its  cost,  and  another 
lot  bought  at  Seventeenth  and  Church  streets. 

In  May,  1864,  while  in  California  for  the  benefit  of  her 
health,  Miss  Miner  met  with  an  accident  from  which  she  never 
recovered.  She  returned  to  Washington  and  died  December 
17,  1864.  The  Miner  Building,  used  for  years  for  pupils  of 
the  colored  normal  school  of  Washington  and  another  large 
building  are  maintained  by  the  Miner  Board. 

When  we  remember  the  trials  and  sacrifices  of  Miss  Miner, 
Miss  Crandall  and  a  host  of  others,  it  does  seem  that  not  a 
colored  child  in  the  whole  country  should  be  tardy  or  absent 
from  school  without  grave  cause  and  that  no  colored  child 
should  ever  play  truant. 

You  have  heard  that  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  did  much  to 
arouse  pity  and  sympathy  for  the  Negroes  and  added  to  the 
number  of  their  friends  and  well-wishers.  But  all  the  people 
of  the  northern  and  western  States  were  not  frinds  of  the 
slave.  There  were  many  who  valued  nothing  but  money  and 
who  resented  the  agitation  which  slavery  was  creating  because 
it  was  "  hurtful  to  business."  It  was  this  latter  class  who 
assisted  in  the  Boston  riot  of  1835,  when  W'illiam  Lloyd  Garri- 
son was  dragged  through  the  streets  with  a  halter  around  his 
neck.  A  sort  of  fury  seemed  to  lay  hold  upon  them  and  they 
were  glad  to  help  catch  slaves. 

When  the  people  of  the  south  heard  of  such  actions  they  felt 
encouraged  and  began  to  talk  of  seceding  from  the  Union  and 
forming  an  independent  government  of  which  slavery  was  to 
be  the  keystone  —  though  of  the  latter  plan  they  did  not  speak 
openly.  The  question  of  whether  or  not  the  Union  should  be 
preserved  with  slavery  or  without  it  was  being  discussed  from 
every  angle  in  Congress  and  out  of  it  and  the  southerners 
claimed  that  the  Missouri  Compromise  had  taken  all  power 
from  the  south  and  that  the  anti-slavery  agitation  would  com- 
pel tlum  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  —  but  that  was  only  an 
excuse. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  153 


In  ]854  a  bill  to  repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  intro- 
duced, and  in  the  debate  which  followed,  Senator  Salmon  P. 
Chase  said  :  "  Now,  sir,  who  is  responsible  for  this  renewal  of 
strife  and  controversy?  It  is  slavery  that  renews  the  strife.  It 
is  slavery  that  again  wants  room.  It  is  slavery  with  its  insatiate 
demand  for  more  slave  territory  and  more  slave  States."  But 
the  bill  was  practically  passed  when  Kansas  and  Nebraska  were 
admitted  into  the  Union  with  the  understanding  that  the 
dwellers  in  those  States  should  decide  whether  their  land 
should  be  slave  or  free. 

Since  the  whole  eastern  border  of  Kansas  adjoined  the  slave- 
trade  State  of  Missouri  there  followed  years  of  struggle,  fight- 
ing, murder,  election  frauds,  etc.,  for  the  pro-slavery  and  the 
anti-slavery  people  were  each  determind  to  win.  During  this 
time  the  State  was  called  Bleeding  Kansas.  And  on  the  scene, 
brave,  fearless  and  uncompromising,  appeared  John  Brown, 
the  Man  of  the  Hour. 

John  Brown  was  of  the  fourth  generation  from  Peter  Brown, 
who  landed  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  December  22,  1620,  from  the 
Mayflower.  The  former  was  born  in  the  first  year  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  (May  9,  1800.),  at  Torrington,  Conn.  He  was 
of  a  stern  and  upright  character,  little  given  to  talking,  but 
when  he  did  speak,  it  was  with  purpose  and  power.  For  many 
years  he  had  been  thinking  deeply  upon  a  plan  to  free  all  the 
slaves,  and  had  decided  that  the  best  way  would  be  to  arm 
them  and  lead  them  into  battle  against  their  masters. 

Perhaps  he  felt  that  the  plans  of  Gabriel,  Vesey  and  Turner 
might  be  enlarged  and  improved  upon.  At  any  rate  he  kept 
his  designs  to  himself  and  very  few  of  his  most  intimate  friends 
had  the  slightest  idea  of  what  he  was  thinking.  It  is  said, 
however,  that  he  took  his  sons  into  his  confidence,  and  they 
pledged  themselves  to  help  him  in  a  cause  which  they  all  felt 
to  be  a  high  and  holy  one. 

Meanwhile,  when  the  struggle  began  in  Kansas  (some  of  his 
sons  were  living  there)  Brown  appeared  at  a  meeting  at  <  >sso- 
watomie,  where  he  made  a  speech,  which  threw  the  convention 


154  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


into  consternation.  He  said  that  slavery  had  been  the  curse 
of  all  ages,  that  slaves  were  men  and  that  some  active  steps 
should  be  taken  to  help  them.  "  Talk,"  he  said,  "  is  a  national 
institution,  but  it  does  no  good  to  the  slave."  He  continued 
his  speech  at  some  length  and  so  great  was  the  impression  he 
made  that  he  was  often  referred  to  as  "  John  Brown,  of  Ossa- 
watomie." 

He  joined  his  sons  at  their  home  and  in  185(5  helped  them 
to  gain  a  victory  over  the  pro-slavery  forces  on  the  Kansas 
prairie.  In  1858  he  began  to  unfold  his  plans  to  a  chosen  few, 
and  in  May  called  a  secret  convention  in  Chatham  Canada 
West,  to  which  were  invited  the  white  and  colored  friends  of 
freedom.  The  convention  adopted  a  "  Provisional  Constitu- 
tion and  Ordinances."  In  June  he  returned  to  Kansas  whence 
in  December  he  went  over  into  Missouri  and  rescued  some 
slaves  who  were  about  to  be  sold,  conveying  them,  after  many 
perils  to  Canada. 

About  a  year  before  this  John  Brown  went  to  Boston  where 
he  made  many  personal  friends  and  received  large  contribu- 
tions for  the  defence  of  Kansas.  But  as  the  terrors  of  slavery 
increased,  Brown,  then  in  his  sixtieth  year,  resolved  to  strike 
a  blow  against  the  system.  Gathering  a  handful  of  followers 
in  the  summer  of  1859  he  secretly  prepared  for  action  by  hiring 
a  farm  a  few  miles  from  Harpers  Ferry,  where  he  stored  as 
many  weapons  of  various  kinds  as  he  could  gather. 

"  On  Sunday.  October  16,  1859,  under  cover  of  profound 
darkness.  Brown,  at  the  head  of  seventeen  white  men  and  five 
Negroes,  entered  Harpers  Ferry,  put  out  the  lights,  seized  the 
armory  and  the  railroad  bridge  and  quietly  arrested  and 
imprisoned  in  the  government  buildings  the  citizens  found 
here  and  there  in  the  streets,  each  one  of  whom  was  ignorant 
of  what  had  happened.  By  eight  o'clock  Monday  morning 
Brown  and  his  few  followers  among  whom  were  two  of  his 
sons,  had  full  possession  of  the  village  and  government  works. 
When  asked  what  was  his  purpose  and  by  what  authority  he 
acted  Brown  replied :  'To  free  the  slaves  and  by  the  authority 
of  God  Almighty.'  " 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  155 


He  felt  assured  that  when  the  blow  had  been  struck  the 
Negroes  of  the  surrounding  country  would  rise  and  flock  to  his 
standard.  He  sincerely  believed  that  a  general  uprising  of  the 
slaves  of  the  whole  country  would  follow.  But  the  slaves 
knew  nothing  of  his  plans,  his  character,  nor  his  past  deeds  and 
so  they  knew  not  whether  he  was  a  real  friend  or  was  only 
trying  to  entrap  them. 

When  the  Virginia  militia,  arriving  Monday  night,  attacked 
the  little  band  it  was  driven  to  a  last  stand  in  the  fire-engine 
house,  and  here  Brown  defended  himself  with  great  bravery. 
With  one  son  dead  by  his  side  and  another  shot  through 
he  felt  the  pulse  of  his  dying  child  with  one  hand,  held  his  rifle 
with  the  other,  and  issued  commands  to  his  men  with  all  the 
composure  of  a  general  in  his  marquee,  telling  them  to  be  firm 
and  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible." 

The  militia  was  reinforced  by  Col.  Robert  E.  Lee,  with  two 
pieces  of  artillery  and  ninety  United  States  marines.  The 
soldiers  broke  open  the  doors  of  the  engine  house  and  captured 
the  insurgents,  and  the  survivors  were  hurried  off  to  prison. 
Brown  was  quickly  tried  and  indicted  for  murder  and  treason ; 
being  found  guilty,  he  was  hanged  December  3,  1859,  at 
Charlestown,  just  a  short  distance  from  Harper's  Ferry. 

In  a  letter  written  to  a  Boston  friend  in  November  he  said  : 
"  I  am  quite  cheerful  and  never  more  happy.  Have  only  time 
to  write  you  a  word.  May  God  forever  reward  you  and  all 
yours.  My  love  to  all  who  love  their  neighbors.  I  have  asked 
to  be  spared  from  having  any  mock  or  hypocritical  prayers 
made  over  me  when  I  am  publicly  murdered ;  and  that  my  only 
religious  attendants  be  poor  little,  dirty,  ragged,  bareheaded, 
barefooted  slave  boys  and  girls,  led  by  some  old  gray-headed 
slave  mother.     Farewell.     Farewell." 

His  wish  was  granted  for  a  negro  mother  brought  her  child. 
and  he  kissed  it  as  he  passed  on  his  way  to  the  gallows.  The 
news  of  John  Brown's  raid  spread  terror  to  slave  owners,  and 
they  imagined  that  there  were  conspirators  scattered  over  all 
the  country,  but  a  strict  investigation  showed  that  only  about 


156  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


twenty-five  knew  the  details  of  his  plan  and  most  of  them  were 
dead  or  imprisoned  at  the  time  of  investigation. 

In  the  little  burial  ground  at  Oberlin,  Lorain  County,  Ohio, 
there  is  a  monument  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  three  of  John 
Brown's  men  as  follows : 

L.  S.  Leary,  died  at  Harpers  Ferry,  October  20,  1859,  aged 
twenty-four  years. 

S.  Green,  died  at  Charlestown,  Va.,  December  2,  1859,  aged 
twenty-eight  years. 

J.  A.  Copeland,  died  at  Charlestown,  Va.,  Dec.  2,  1859,  aged 
twenty-five  years. 

These  colored  citizens  of  Oberlin,  the  heroic  associates  of 
the  immortal  John  Brown,  gave  their  lives  for  the  slave. 

Though  John  Brown's  raid  seemed  to  be  a  failure  the  spirit 
which  moved  him  spread  through  the  land  and  roused  to  word- 
conflicts,  fiercer  than  ever,  the  friends  and  foes  of  slavery. 
"  The  Union  must  be  dissolved,"  cried  some.  "  Save  the  Union 
at  all  costs,"  cried  others.  And  over  all  the  dark  clouds  of 
civil  war — a  war  in  which  brother  should  fight  against  brother 
and  father  against  son — lowered  on  the  horizon. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


157 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

THE  number  of  slaves  in  this  country  in  1860  was  3,950,531, 
and  of  free  Negroes  there  were  251,000.     In  December 
of   that   year,   the   people   of    South    Carolina   through 
representatives   assembled   at   Charleston,   adopted   articles  of 
secession  and  declared  South  Carolina  an  independent  State, 


BATTLE   OF  FORT  WAGNER. 

calling  upon  other  southern  States  to  follow  their  lead  and 
assist  in  forming  a  Confederacy.  Six  States  soon  responded 
in  the  following  order :  Mississippi,  January  9 ;  Florida,  Jan- 
uary K>;  Alabama,  January  11;  Georgia,  January  19;  Louis- 
iana, January  2Q;  Texas,  February  1.  The  ferment  of  seces- 
sion was  active  among  the  politicians  of  all  the  Southern  States, 
though  in  some  cases,  Virginia  notably,  the  mass  of  the  people 
hesitated,  but  finally  nearly  all  of  the  slaves  States  joined  in 
the  secession. 


158  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


The  people  of  South  Carolina  seized  the  Federal  buildings, 
drove  out  loyal  officials,  and  on  the  morning  of  April  12,  1861, 
after  having  demanded  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter,  which 
was  occupied  by  national  troops,  fired  upon  the  fort.  The 
long-looked-for,  long-planned-for  war  was  begun !  You  have 
already  learned  that  not  all  the  people  who  lived  in  the  north 
were  friends  of  the  Negro,  or  loyal  to  the  Union.  It  is  also 
true  that  many  who  lived  in  the  south  were  true  to  their  coun- 
try and  believed  that  all  men  should  be  free.  But  the  latter 
were  very,  unpopular  in  their  home  section. 
■  In  the  light  of  what  follows,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that,  at 
first,  neither  the  government  nor  the  secessionists  acknowl- 
edged that  slavery  had  anything  to  do  with  the  war.  The  first 
claimed  that  it  was  a  war  to  preserve  the  Union,  the  last,  that 
the  war  was  to  dissolve  the  Union,  and  both  agreed  that  it  was 
"  a  white  man's  war."  So  when  President  Lincoln  issued  his 
first  call  fcr  troops,  the  northern  Negroes  who  flocked  to  the 
Union  standard  were  scornfully  rejected.  In  New  York  some 
colored  men  hired  a  room  and  began  to  drill,  but  when  the 
white  people  learned  of  it,  they  threatened  to  mob  them,  and  the 
Superintendent  of  Police  ordered  their  drilling  to  cease. 

One  of  the  leading  Virginians  said :  "  It  is  a  gross  mistake 
to  suppose  that  abolition  is  the  cause  of  dissolution  between 
the  north  and  the  south.  The  Cavaliers,  Jacobites  and  the 
1  luguenots  who  settled  the  south  naturally  hate,  contemn  and 
despise  the  Puritans  who  settled  the  north.  The  former  are 
master  races,  the  latter  a  slave  race,  the  descendants  of  the 
Saxon  serfs."  We  are  told  that  God  maketh  the  wrath  of  men 
to  praise  Him,  and  we  know  that  He  is  constantly  using  even 
wicked  men  as  instruments  to  work  His  will.  The  Civil  War 
was  a  black  man's  war  and  it  was  brought  about  to  redeem 
both  white  and  black  from  the  curse  of  slavery. 

For  nearly  two  years  Negroes  were  denied  admission  to  the 
Union  army  as  soldiers  and  the  army  acted  as  a  band  of  slave 
catchers,  returning  runaway  slaves  to  their  masters.  While 
some  of  the  commanding  officers  rebelled  against  this,  others 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  159 


gave  the  slave  hunters  every  assistance.  Strange  to  say,  as 
early  as  May,  1861,  there  was  a  call  for  "patriotic  men  of 
color  "  to  assist  the  rebel  army  and  it  is  said  that  several  com- 
panies of  them  fought  on  that  side  during  the  war.  One  won- 
ders what  these  men  could  have  been  thinking  of.  However, 
the  "  Creole  mulatto "  who  commanded  three  companies  of 
Negro  Confederate  troops,  on  guard  at  the  Mint  in  New 
Orleans,  allowed  his  men  to  be  cut  off  from  the  retreating  white 
Confederates,  refrained  from  destroying  the  Mint,  and  quietly 
surrendered  to  the  Union  forces  which  entered  the  city. 

In  May,  1802,  Robert  Smalls  was  pilot  of  the  Confederate 
vessel.  The  Planter,  and  three  other  colored  men  were  em- 
ployed on  the  boat — A.  Gradine,  engineer ;  William  Morri- 
son, and  John  Smalls,  sailors.  While  the  officers  of  the  vessel 
were  ashore  in  Charleston,  Robert  Smalls,  with  the  help  of  the 
others,  carried  the  boat  over  Charleston  Bar,  past  Fort  Sumter 
and  delivered  it  to  the  commander  of  the  United  States  ships 
which  were  blockading  the  harbor.  This  daring  deed  was 
greatly  commended.  Smalls  was  appointed  pilot  on  a  Union 
boat,  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  1803,  and  placed  in  command 
c  i"  The  Planter,  which  position  he  held  until  the  boat  was  put 
out  of  commission  in  1806. 

In  the  spring  of  1802,  Gen.  David  Hunter,  with  headquarters 
at  Hilton  Head,  S.  C,  feeling  the  need  of  a  larger  force  and 
receiving  no  help  from  his  superior  officers,  organized  and 
equipped  a  regiment  of  Negroes.  When  the  news  reached 
Washington,  a  representative  from  Kentucky,  angrily  called 
for  an  investigation  of  the  report.  The  reply  of  General 
1  lunter  was  at  once  so  pointed  and  so  witty  that  the  matter  was 
laughed  out  of  Congress,  but  the  courageous  general  was  not 
supported  in  this  matter  as  he  deserved ;  though,  a  few  weeks 
later,  an  order  was  sent  to  the  military  governor  in  his  depart- 
ment to  "  arm,  equip  and  receive  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  such  a  number  of  volunteers  of  African  descent  "  as 
would  be  useful. 

In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  General  J.  W.  Phelps,  of 


160  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


the  Army  of  the  Gulf,  found  the  work  of  his  soldiers  ham- 
pered by  the  large  number  of  Negroes  —  men,  women  and 
children  —  who  flocked  to  his  camp.  He  asked  permission  to 
arm  and  enlist  the  men,  but  was  instead  told  to  employ  them 
in  digging  ditches,  building  fortifications,  etc.  Replying  that 
he  had  neither  ability  nor  taste  for  the  position  of  slave-driver, 
General  Phelps  resigned  his  commission  and  returned  to  his 
home  in  Vermont.  Almost  before  his  resignation  went  into 
effect,  the  point  for  which  he  had  contended  was  more  than 
gained,  for  in  some  instances  the  colored  companies  were  offi- 
cered by  colored  men. 

On  January  1,  1863,  President  Lincoln  issued  his  Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation  through  which  the  slaves  in  the  rebellious 
section  drew,  for  the  first  time,  the  breath  of  liberty,  and  the 
laws  which  through  two  hundred  years  had  been  passed  to  keep 
them  down,  melted  into  nothingness.  If  the  free  men  had  given 
valiant  service,  i  agine  with  what  eagerness  the  newly  freed 
slaves  enlisted  in  the  Federal  army.  But  they  were  not  always 
received  with  kindness  by  their  brothers  in  arms;  they  were 
at  first  forced  tj  suffer  many  humiliations.  Most  of  those 
who  had  witnessed  the  valor  of  the  Negro  in  the  war  of  l.siy 
were  dead  and  in  the  minds  of  both  enemies  and  friends  was 
the  query,  "  Will  the  Negro  fight?'' 

Will  the  Negro  fight !  In  the  very  first  battle  where  Negro 
companies  were  given  a  fair  chance  —  the  battle  of  Port  Hud- 
son, May  2(>,  1863  —  they  made  their  mark.  With  others  the 
First  Louisiana  Regiment,  General  Banks,  commander,  had 
been  ordered  forward,  and  before  leaving  camp,  their  colonel 
had  made  them  a  patriotic  and  inspiring  speech,  and  ended  by 
addressing  these  words  to  the  color-sergeant,  Anselmas  Plan- 
cianos :  "Color  guard,  protect,  defend,  die  for,  but  do  not 
surrender  these  flags."  The  sergeant  replied:  "Colonel,  I  will 
bring  back  these  colors  to  you,  or  report  to  God  the  reason 
why."  And  so,  animated  by  the  highest  sentiments  of  cour- 
age and  patriotism,  the  black  regiment  moved  against  the 
enemy.     When  ordered  to  charge  the  rebel  fortifications  they 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  161 


did  so  at  a  rush,  but  what  was  the  amazement  of  officers  and 
men  alike  to  find  that  between  them  and  the  enemy  rolled  an 
impassable  stream.  It  was  only  about  forty  feet  wide,  but  the 
enemy's  guns  were  turned  upon  it  and  as  the  men  reached  the 
edge  of  the  stream  they  were  -mowed  down  like  grass  before 
the  scythe.  Seven  times  this  gallant  regiment  charged  toward 
the  enemy  in  the  hopeless  effort  to  capture  the  fort,  and  the 
bayou  between  rolled  red  with  their  blood. 

Captain  Andre  Callieux,  "  a  man  so  black  that  he  prided 
himself  upon  his  blackness,"  was  in  command  of  Company  E. 
He  rushed  out  at  the  head  of  his  men,  waving  his  sword  and 
crying,  "  Follow  me."  He  was  struck  by  a  shell  and  fell  dead 
and  the  enemy's  guns  so  covered  the  place  where  he  fell  that 
it  was  not  possible  to  obtain  his  body.  Soon  afterward  Ser- 
geant Plancianos  proudly  bearing  the  colors,  was  also  -truck 
by  a  shell  and  fell  dead,  tightly  clasping  the  flag.  He  went  up 
to  "  report  to  God  "  the  blunder  which  had  needlessly  sacrificed 
the  lives  of  brave  men.  A  comrade  snatched  the  colors  from 
his  dead  hands,  and  he  being  almost  immediately  killed,  the 
flag  was  taken  by  another  and  borne  aloft  throughout  the 
battle.  Forty  days  afterward,  the  body  of  Gallioux  was  re- 
claimed and  buried  in  Xew  Orleans  with  the  highest  military 
and  civil  honors.  The  news  of  the  bravery  of  the  black  regi- 
ment  at  Port  Hudson  spread  throughout  the  country  and  their 
praise  was  unstinted.  The  First,  Second  and  Third  Louisiana 
and  the  First  Engineer  Regi  rent  took  part  in  this  battle.  The 
following  is  an  extract  from  a  poem  written  in  honor  of  the 
[Black  Regiment : 

*'  Freedom,"  their  battle  cry, 
"Freedom,  or  leave  to  die!" 

Ah  !  and  they  meant  the  word. 

Not  as  with  us  it's  heard, 

Nor  a  mere  party  shout. 

They  gave  their  spirits  out ; 

Trusted  the  end  to  God, 


i62  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


And  on  the  gory  sod 
Rolled  in  triumphant  blood, 
Glad  to  strike  one  free  blow, 
Whether  for  weal  or  woe ; 
Glad  to  breathe  one  free  breath, 
Though  on  the  lips  of  death. 
Praying,  alas !   in  vain, 
That  they  might   fall  again 
So  they  could  once  more  see 
That  burst  of  liberty. 
That   was   what   "  Freedom  "   lent 
To  the  Black  Regiment. 

1  [undreds  on  hundreds  fell ; 
Hut  they  are  resting  well; 
Scourges  and   shackles   strong 
Never  shall  do  them  wrong. 
( )h  !  to  the  living  few. 
Soldiers  be  just  and  true. 
Hail  them  as  comrades  tried 
Fight  with  them  side  by  side; 
Never   in   field   or  tent 
Scorn  the  Black  Regiment. 

On  the  13th,  14th,  and  loth  of  July,  1863,  occurred  what 
were  called  the  New  York  Draft  Riots.  A  draft  to  fill  up  the 
ranks  of  the  Union  army  had  been  ordered,  and  the  low-class 
whites  of  the  city,  claiming  that  the  Negroes  were  to  blame, 
formed  a  plot  to  kill  them  all.  Of  the  plotters  it  is  said,  "  arson 
and  plunder,  murder  and  maiming  were  their  business  and 
recreation.  Men  and  women  were  clubbed  to  death  in  the 
streets,  hung  on  lamp  posts  or  butchered  in  their  homes.  The 
infuriated  rioters  laid  in  ashes  an  asylum  for  colored  children, 
and  the  terrified  inmates,  who  fled  in  every  direction,  were 
pursued  and  some  of  the  poor  children  were  cruelly  beaten  and 
maimed.     The  colored  people  throughout  the  city  were  hunted 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  163 


and  treated  as  if  they  were  noxious  beasts,  and  many  fled  to 
the  country.  Finally,  the  police,  aided  by  troops  suppressed 
the  insurrection,  but  not  until  several  hundred  human  lives 
had  been  lost,  and  property  worth  $2,000,000  destroyed. 

The  rebels  were  so  angry  because  Negroes  were  enlisted  to 
fight  against  them  that  they  declared  they  would  kill  every 
Negro  captured,  as  well  as  the  white  men  who  officered  them. 
Special  vengeance  was  vowed  against  General  Butler  who  had 
announced  that  all  Negroes  who  came  into  his  lines  were  free 
as  "  contraband  of  war,"  and  against  General  Hunter  who  had 
freed  and  armed  those  who  came  to  him.  In  the  battle  of  Milli- 
ken's  Bend,  La.,  fought  on  June  6,  1863,  the  slaughter  was 
fearful.  It  is  said  "  the  rebels  drove  our  forces  toward  the 
gunboats,  taking  colored  men  prisoners  and  murdering  them. 
This  so  enraged  their  comrades,  that  they  rallied  and  charged 
the  enemy  more  heroically  and  desperately  than  has  been 
recorded  during  the  war.  White  and  black  men  were  lying  side 
by  side,  pierced  by  bayonets.  In  one  instance,  two  men,  one 
white  and  the  other  black,  were  found  dead  side  by  side,  each 
having  the  other's  bayonet  through  his  body.  Broken  limbs, 
broken  heads,  mangled  bodies,  all  proved  that  it  was  a  contest 
between  enraged  men  on  the  one  side  from  hatred  to  a  race, 
and  on  the  other,  desire  for  self-preservation,  revenge  for  past 
grievances  and  the  inhuman  murder  of  their  comrades.  One 
brave  man  took  his  former  master  prisoner  and  brought  him 
into  camp  with  great  gusto." 

The  5-ith  Mass.,  the  first  colored  regiment  from  the  North, 
took  part  on  July  18th,  18G3,  in  the  battle  of  Fort  Wagner,  on 
Morris  Island,  S.  C.  Col.  Robert  Gould  Shaw  commanded, 
and  the  post  of  honor  and  of  danger,  in  front  of  the  attacking 
column,  was  assigned  to  the  54th.  "A  terrific  fire  was  turned 
upon  the  Union  troops,  and  here  the  brave  Shaw,  with  scores 
of  his  black  warriors,  went  down  fighting  desperately."  "What 
fighting  and  what  fearful  carnage!  Hand  to  hand,  breast  to 
breast,  here  on  this  little  strip  of  land,  scarce  larger  than  the 
human  hand,  dense  masses  of  men  struggled  with  fury  in  the 


1 64  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


darkness,  and  so  fierce  was  the  contest  that  the  sands  were 
reddened  and  soaked  with  human  gore." 

Color  Sergeant  Wm.  H.  Carney,  of  New  Bedford,  dashed 
up  to  the  fortifications  of  the  enemy  and  planted  the  Union 
colors.  But  the  enemy's  fire  thinned  out  the  regiment,  and 
Sergeant  Carney,  being  wounded,  drew  himself  up  on  the 
parapet  of  the  fort,  still  holding  the  colors  aloft.  When  his 
comrades  were  finally  compelled  to  retire,  he  crept  away,  but 
did  not  lower  the  flag.  "When  he  entered  the  field  hospital, 
where  his  wounded  comrades  were  being  brought  in,  they 
cheered  him  and  the  colors.  Though  nearly  exhausted  with 
the  loss  of  blood,  he  said,  'Boys,  the  old  flag  never  touched 
the  ground.'  " 

On  April  13th,  1864,  occurred  the  horrible  massacre  of 
Union  troops  at  Fort  Pillow,  Kentucky.  There  were  557  Na- 
tional troops  in  the  garrison,  262  of  which  wrere  Negroes  of 
the  6th  Battery.  The  rebels,  in  great  numbers  attacked  the 
fort,  and  after  heavy  firing  on  both  sides,  the  attacking  party 
demanded,  under  flag  of  truce,  the  Union  forces  to  surrender, 
saying  that  if  they  w*ere  compelled  to  capture  the  works,  they 
would  give  "No  quarter."  Major  Bradford,  the  commander, 
refused  to  surrender,  when  the  whole  Confederate  force 
(having  crept  close  to  the  fort  while  under  flag  of  truce) 
charged  the  works  and  gained  entrance.  "They  butchered 
black  and  white,  soldiers  and  non-combatants,  men,  women 
and  children.  Disabled  men  were  made  to  stand  up  and  be 
shot;  others  were  burned  within  the  tents  wherein  they  had 
been  nailed  to  the  floor.  This  carnival  of  murder  continued 
until  dark  and  was  even  renewed  the  next  morning.  Major 
Bradford  was  not  murdered  until  he  had  been  carried  several 
miles  on  the  retreat."  The  atrocities  committed  there  made 
such  an  impression  upon  the  Negro  troops  throughout  the 
country  that  in  every  battle  afterward  "Rer.ember  Fort  Pil- 
low" was  their  battle  cry,  spurring  them  to  terrible  vengeance. 

"Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  commanded  a  number  of  Negro 
troops  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Harrison  where  they  made  one  of 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  165 


the  most  brilliant  charges  of  the  war  and  captured  the  works 
in  an  incredibly  short  time,  crying  "Remember  Fort  Pillow  " 
A  large  number  of  them  were  slain  and  General  Butler,  who 
ten  years  later,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  was  making  a  speech 
on  the  Civil  Rights  Bill,  referred  in  Fort  Harri-on  in  the  fol- 
lowing words:  "It  became  my  pait.ful  duty  to  follow  in  the 
track  of  that  charging  column,  an-:  there,  in  a  space  net  wiuer 
than  the  clerk's  desk,  and  three  h  mdred  yard >  i.mg,  lay  the 
de;id  bodies  of  ih  c  hundred  and  iorty-three  of  my  col  ,t-,>fi 
comrades,  fallen  in  the  defence  of  their  country,  who  had  of- 
fered up  their  lives  to  uphold  its  flag  and  its  honor  as  a  will- 
ing sacrifice ;  and  as  I  rode  along  among  them,  guiding  my 
horse  this  way  and  that  way  lest  he  should  profane  with  his 
hoofs  what  seemed  to  me  the  sacred  dead,  and  as  I  looked 
on  their  bronze  faces  upturned,  in  the  shining  sun,  as  if  in  mute 
appeal  against  the  wrongs  of  the  country  for  which  they  had 
given  their  lives,  whose  flag  had  only  been  to  them  a  flag  of 
stripes  on  which  no  star  of  glory  had  ever  shone  for  them — 
feeling  I  had  wronged  them  in  the  past,  and  believing  what 
was  the  future  of  my  country  to  them — among  my  dead  com- 
rades there,  I  swore  to  myself  a  solemn  oath,  'May  my  right 
hand  forget  its  cunning,  and  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of 
my  mouth,'  if  I  ever  fail  to  defend  the  rights  of  those  men 
who  gave  their  blood  for  me  and  my  country  that  day,  and  for 
their  race  forever,  and  God  helping  me,  I  will  keep  that  oath." 
Nearly  two  hundred  thousand  Negro  soldiers,  including  a 
number  of  officers,  fought  during  the  Civil  War ;  they  took 
part  in  scores  of  battles  and  always  distinguished  themselves 
for  bravery.  "At  Petersburg,  Deep  Bottom,  Chapin's  Farm, 
Fair  Oaks,  Hatchers  Run,  Farmville,  the  black  soldiers  won 
for  themselves  lasting  glory  and  golden  opinions."  When  the 
war  ended  in  18G5,  no  one  asked  the  question,  "Will  the  Negro 

fight?" 

The  following  is  a  resume  of  the  American  Negro  as  a  war- 
rior: "The  first  blood  shed  in  the  Revolution  was  that  of  a 
Negro,  Crispus  Attucks,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1770.    The  first 


1 66  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


blood  shed  in  the  war  for  the  Union  was  that  of  a  Negro, 
Nicholas  Diddle,  a  member  of  the  very  first  company  that 
passed  through  Baltimore  in  April,  1861 ;.  while  the  very  first 
Negro  killed  in  the  war  was  named  John  Brown.  The  first 
Union  regiment  of  Negro  troops  raised  during  the  Rebellion 
was  raised  in  the  state  that  was  first  to  secede  from  the  Union, 
South  Carolina.  Its  colonel  was  a  Massachusetts  man,  and  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College.  The  first  action  in  which  Negro 
troops  participated  was  in  South  Carolina.  The  first  regi- 
ment of  Northern  Negro  troops  fought  its  first  battle  in  South- 
Carolina,  where  it  immortalized  itself.  The  first  Negro  troops 
recruited  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  were  recruited  by  a  Mas- 
sachusetts officer,  Gen.  B.  F.  Butler,  while  their  fighting  here 
was  directed  by  another  Massachusetts  officer.  Gen.  N.  P. 
Banks.  The  first  recognition  of  Negro  Union  troops  by  the 
Confederate  ar  ry  was  in  December.  1803.  when  Major  John 
C.  Calhoun,  a  grandson  of  the  South  Carolina  statesman  of 
that  name,  bore  a  flag  of  truce,  which  was  received  by  Major 
Trowbridge  of  the  First  South  Carolina  Colored  Regiment. 
The  first  regiment  to  enter  Petersburg  was  composed  of 
Negroes,  while  the  first  troops  to  enter  the  Confederate  cap- 
ital at  Richmond  were  Gen.  Godfry  Weitzel's  two  divisions 
of  Negroes.  The  last  guns  fired  at  Lee's  army  at  Appomattox 
were  in  the  hands  of  Negro  soldiers.  And  when  the  last  ex- 
piring effort  of  treason  had  laid  our  beloved  President  low  in 
death,  a  Negro  regiment  guarded  his  remains,  and  marched 
in  the  stately  procession  which  bore  the  illustrious  dead  from  . 
the  White  House.  And  on  the  loth  of  May.  lb(55,  at  Palmetto 
Ranch,  Texas,  the  62nd  Regiment  of  Colored  Troops  fired  the 
last  volley  of  the  war." 

The  colored  sailors  were  noted  for  their  valor  and  the  fol- 
lowing colored  soldiers  received  medals  of  honor  fro  n  the 
government  of  the  United  States  for  heroic  conduct  during^ 
the  Civil  War:  Sergeant- Major  C.  A.  Fleetwood.  Color-Ser- 
geant A.  B.  Hilton,  Private  Chas.  Yeal,  all  of  the  4th  Regi- 
ment ;  1st  Sergeant  James  Brownson.  Sergeant-Major  M.  M. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  167 


Holland,  1st  Sergeant  Robert  Pinn,  1st  Sergeant  Powhatan 
Beaty,  5th  Regiment;  1st  Sergeant  Alexander  Kelly,  6th  Regi- 
ment ;  Sergeants  Samuel  Gilchrist,  Wm.  Davis,  Corporal  Miles 
James,  Private  Janes  Gardner,  36th  Regiment;  1st  Sergeant 
Edward  Ratcliff,  Private  William  Barnes,  38th  Regiment. 
The  55th  Mass.  also  played  a  notable  part. 

The  Emancipation  Proclamation  issued  by  the  President 
in  1SG3,  was  on  Jan.  1st,  1865,  extended  to  include  the  entire 
United  States  and  was  ratified  by  Congress  in  the  Thirteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution.  Plardly  had  Lee  surrendered 
to  Grant  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  on  April  9th,  1865,  than 
the  whole  world  was  horrified  by  the  assassination  of  President 
Lincoln.  Whatever  hopes  and  plans  he  may  have  entertained 
for  the  assembling  of  the  scattered  forces  of  the  nation  and 
the  bringing  about  of  peace  and  prosperity,  were  suddenly 
ended.  Vice-President  Johnson  took  up  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, but  he  proved  more  a  hindrance  than  a  help  to  re-ad- 
justment, and  the  country  and  the  world  bewailed  the  loss  of 
Lincoln. 


1 68 


A  NARRATIVECOF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
FIFTEEN  YEARS  OF  FREEDOM— 1865-1880. 

T^  REE  at  last !     Free  to  make  a  home ;  free  to  educate  our 
*■  children  ;  free  to  enter  business ;  free  to  keep  our  earn- 

ings ;  free  to  build  churches  and  publicly  worship  God ! 
Free  at  last!  Such  was  the  feeling  of  thoughtful  XTegroes  at 
the  close  of  the  war.  and  this  class,  North  and  South,  began  to 
make  the  most  of  their  opportunities. 


HOWARD  UNIVERSITY 

Somehow,  the  idea  that  the  Federal  Government  would  give 
to  the  head  of  each  colored  family  forty  acres  of  land  and  a 
mule  had  obtained  hold  of  many  minds.  Some  waited  around 
to  receive  the  gift,  and  were  laughed  at  for  their  pains.  But 
the  very  fact  that  they  wanted  land  and  were  willing  to  culti- 
vate it  was  a  favorable  sign  ;  and  to  have  made  this  dream  come 
true,  would  have  been  a  splendid  investment  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  Government.  At  the  ti  ne  there  were  thousands 
of  acres  of  unclaimed  land,  and  who  can  say  how  much  pov- 
erty, misery,  disease  and  crime  might  have  been  prevented  by 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  169 


turning  the  f reedmen  into  landowners  ?  But  they  were  largely 
left  to  work  out  their  own  salvation,  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  there  were  in  the  South  four  classes 
of  white  citizens.  Those  who  would  not  accept  defeat  and 
exiled  themselves  in  foreign  lands ;  those  who  remained  at 
home,  but  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  reconstruction  of 
their  section ;  those  who  accepted  conditions  and  did  what  they 
could  to  help,  and  those  who  set  themselves  to  hinder  anything 
the  Federal  Government  might  attempt.  The  last  class  seemed 
to  be  the  most  numerous  and  the  provisional  conventions  and 
legislatures  which  convened  in  the  southern  states  just  after  the 
war,  passed  laws  which  would  slyly  undo  all  that  the  war  and 
emancipation  had  accomplished. 

It  became  clear  that  "any  reconstruction  that  denied  or  post- 
poned the  right  of  the  freedman  to  the  ballot  and  restored  it  to 
his  former  master  would  have  been  foolish,  wicked  and  dis- 
astrous. This  was  the  judgment  of  the  patriotic  statesmen  of 
that  era.  They  represented  a  vast  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  north,  who  were  in  no  mood  for  trifling,  but  were  resolved 
that  the  blood  shed  and  the  treasure  wasted  by  the  Civil  War 
should  be,  as  far  as  possible,  compensated  for  by  a  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  Union  that  would  preclude  all  possibility  of 
another  rebellion  based  upon  a  demand  for  state  rights  or  for 
slavery  in  any  form."  So  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution,  gave  full  rights  of  citizenship  to  all  persons  born 
or  naturalized  in  this  country,  and  by  means  of  this  act  the 
Negro  began  to  feel  himself  an  American  citizen. 

But  this  was  more  than  rebel  sentiment  could  bear  and  it 
finally  became  necessary  to  further  amend  the  Constitution  and 
in  lsTu  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  by  which  the  privilege  and 
duty  of  voting  was  extended  to  all  Americans  without  regard 
to  "race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude."  During 
this  period  many  northern  white  men  took  up  their  residence 
in  the  south,  and  began  to  accept  election  to  various  public 
offices ;  many  of  these  men  were  moved  by  the  highest  feelings 
of  philanthropy  and  patriotism,  but  others  were  actuated  by 


17°  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


selfish  motives  only.  Between  the  northern  politicians  and  the 
Negroes  on  the  one  side  and  the  southerners  on  the  other,  there 
arose  the  hitterest  enmity.  There  followed  a  long  series  of 
brutal  outrages,  murders,  mannings,  beatings,  burnings  of  the 
Negroes  and  their  northern  friends  by  the  southerners,  who 
had  organized  themselves  into  secret  societies  for  the  purpose. 
But  notwithstanding  this  reign  of  terror,  there  were  several 
Negroes  elected  to  high  office  during  this  period. 

Besides  a  large  number  who  served  in  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  states,  there  were  two  U.  S.  Senators,  Hiram  R.  Rev- 
els elected  from  Mississippi,  served  from  February,  1870, 
to  March,  1871;  Blanche  K.  Bruce,  from  Mississippi,  served 
from  March,  1875,  to  March,  1881.  United  States  Congress- 
men were  Richard  H.  Cain,  elected  from  South  Carolina, 
served  in  the  Forty-third  and  the  Forty-fifth  Congresses ;  Rob- 
ert C.  DeLarge  from  South  Carolina,  Forty-second  Congress ; 
Joseph  H.  Rainey,  South  Carolina,  Forty-first,  Forty-second, 
Forty-third,  Forty-fourth  Congresses ;  John  R.  Lynch,  Missis- 
sippi, Forty-third,  Forty-fourth  Forty-fifth  Congresses;  Benja- 
min Sterling  Turner,  Alabama,  Forty-second  Congress ;  Josiah 
T.  Walls,  Virginia,  Forty-fourth  Congress ;  James  T.  Rapier, 
Alabama,  Forty-third  Congress  ;  Alonzo  J.  Ranzier,  South  Caro- 
lina, Forty-third  Congress ;  John  Flyman,  Forty-fourth  Con- 
gress;  John  R.  Lynch,  Mississippi,  Forty-third,  Forty-fourth 
Congresses  Jere  Haralson  Georgia,  Forty-fourth,  Forty-fifth 
Congresses;  Charles  H.  Nash, 'Louisiana,  Forty-fourth  Con- 
gress ;  Jefferson  F.  Long,  Georgia,  Forty-first  Congress.  Feb- 
ruary, 1871.  As  Lieutenant-Governors  of  States,  the  follow- 
ing served:  Oscar  J.  Dunn,  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback,  C.  C.  Antoine, 
in  Louisiana;  Alex  Davis  in  Mississippi;  Alonzo  J.  Pansier, 
Richard  Howell  Cleaves,  South  Carolina  The  following  en- 
tered the  diplomatic  service :  Fbenezer  D.  Bassett,  Pennsyl- 
vania, United  States  Minister  to  Plaiti ;  John  M.  Langstoh,  Vir- 
ginia, Minister  Resident  and  Consul-General  to  Plaiti  in  1877; 
J.  Milton    Turner,  Missouri,    Minister    to    Liberia;  John   H. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  171 


Smyth,  North  Carolina,  Minister  to  Liberia,  1S66-82';  Henry- 
Highland  Garnett,  Minister  Resident  and  Consul-General  to 
Liberia.  Besides  these  men  and  a  host  of  others  like  them, 
there  appeared  during  this  period  a  number  of  capable  women 
whose  influence  was  for  race  advancement ;  among  them  were 
Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Shadd  Carey,  Mrs.  Fannie  Jackson  Coppin, 
Mrs.  Charlotte  Forten  Grimke,  Miss  Louise  De  Mortie,  Miss 
Mary  Jane  Patterson,  Miss  Ed.nonia  Lewis,  Miss  Martha 
Briggs,  Mrs.  Sarah  Jones,  Miss  Eliza  Gardner  and  others. 

Politicians  were  not  the  only  northerners  who  went  south 
during  this  time.  Hardly  had  the  war  closed  when  a  Grand 
Army  of  Peace,  an  army  of  Christian  men  and  women  left 
their  homes  and  all  that  makes  home  dear  to  carry  to  the  f  reed- 
men  the  light  of  education,  true  religion  and  culture.  Of  them 
there  was  a  great  host,  too  numerous  to  mention  here,  whose  : 
work  lives  after  them  and  will  live.  Some  of  those  Christian 
soldiers  went  in  1861  to  the  islands  off  the  Carolina  Coast  and 
took  up  work  among  the  Negroes  there.  It  is  said  that  upon 
these  islands,  in  slavery  days,  the  Negroes  had  been  regarded 
as  beasts  of  burden  and  that  they  were  hardly  as  well  cared 
for.  "Cleanliness  or  neatness  were  as  unknown  as  the  alpha- 
bet and  decent  homelife  was  nowhere  to  be  found  among  the 
plantation  Negroes,  to  whom  the  appearance  of  a  white  face 
was  so  rare  as  to  frighten  the  children  by  its  novelty."  The  St. 
Helena  Island,  noted  for  the  excellent  quality  of  the  cotton 
which  it  produces,  is  the  home  of  one  of  the  oldest  schools  for 
Negroes  in  the  south.  Miss  Laura  W.  Towne.  the  northern 
lady  who  founded  it,  has  been  called  the  uncrowned  queen  of 
the  island.  The  founding  of  Penn  School  was  the  beginning  of 
a  better  time  for  the  islanders  and  it  is  said  that  there  is  now 
hardly  in  the  south  a  more  intelligent,  industrious  and  prosper- 
ous community  of  colored  people. 

Major-General  O.  O.  Howard  was  appointed  Commission- 
er of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  May  20th,  1805.  His  task  was  a 
huge  one,  but  he  was  equal  to  it.     "He  founded  hospitals  for 


117  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


the  sick,  infirm,  blind,  deaf  and  dumb,  issued  food  and  clothing 
to  the  needy  and  apportioned  land  to  the  worthy.  In  six 
months,  this  bureau  had  furnished  transportation  for  1,946 
freedmen.  In  1870,  General  Howard  reported  that  the  Bureau 
had  furnished  654  school  buildings,  employed  9,307  teachers, 
and  instructed  247,333  pupils ;  the  freedmen  themselves  sup- 
ported and  owned  592  school  buildings.  There  was  74  high 
and  normal  schools,  and  61  industrial  schools;  $1,002,896  was 
expended  and  of  this  sum  the  freedmen  raised  $200,000." 

"The  work  of  education  for  the  Negro  at  the  south  had  to 
begin  at  the  bottom.  There  had  been  no  schools  at  all  for  this 
people,  and  hence,  the  work  began  with  the  alphabet.  And 
there  could  be  no  classification  of  the  scholars.  All  the  way 
from  six  to  sixty  the  pupils  ranged  in  age ;  and  even  some  who 
had  given  slavery  years  of  their  existence — mothers  and 
fathers  in  Israel — crowded  the  schools  established  for  their 
race.  Some  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  after  a  half  century  of 
preaching,  entered  school  to  learn  how  to  spell  out  the  names 
of  the  twelve  Apostles.  Old  women  who  had  lived  out  their 
three-score  years  and  ten  prayed  that  they  might  live  to  spell 
out  the  Lord's  prayer,  while  the  modest  request  of  many  de- 
parting patriarchs  was  that  they  might  recognize  the  Lord's 
name  in  print." 

General  Howard  appointed  over  the  Virginia  branch  of  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau  a  young  "veteran"  of  the  Civil  War,  Gen. 
Samuel  Chapman  Armstrong.  Realizing  the  need,  General 
Armstrong  decided  to  establish  "a  school  to  teach  both  sexes 
manual  labor  as  a  moral  force,"  and  Hampton  Institute,  near 
Old  Point  Comfort,  was  the  result.  At  Hampton  every  teacher 
and  every  pupil  has  always  been  required  to  live  up  to  the  best 
that  was  in  him  and  Hampton  graduates  have  had  a  mighty 
part  in  race  development.  Regarding  teachers.  General  Arm- 
strong's fixed  policy  was,  "In  the  school  the  great  thing  is  not 
to  quarrel,  and  to  get  rid  of  workers  whose  temperaments  are 
unfortunate,  no  matter  how  much  knowledge  or  culture  they 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  173 


may  have.  Cantankerousness  is  worse  than  heterodoxy."  It 
is  well  for  us  all  to  remember  that  it  takes  more  than  one  sort 
of  culture  to  make  the  desirable  citizen — heart  culture  and 
soul  culture  have  a  large  part. 

By  1879,  there  was  a  long  list  of  Negro  schools  and  colleges, 
supported  principally  by  northern  philanthrophy ;  most  of  them 
were  denominational  schools  for  Methodists,  Congregation- 
alists,  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  Episcopalians  and  Roman  Cath- 
olics all  took  part  in  the  mental  and  moral  elevation  of  our  race. 
Bearing  witness  to  their  efforts,  besides  many  primary  and  sec- 
ondary schools,  are  Atlanta  University,  Georgia ;  Berea  Col- 
lege, Kentucky ;  Leland  University,  New  Orleans ;  Straight 
University  and  New  Orleans  University,  Louisiana ;  Shaw 
and  Alcorn  Universities,  Mississippi ;  Biddle  University,  North 
Carolina ;  Wilberf ore  University,  Ohio ;  Lincoln  University, 
Pennsylvania ;  Claflin  University  and  College  of  Agriculture, 
South  Carolina ;  Central  College,  Tennessee ;  Fisk  University, 
Tennessee ;  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  Hempstead, 
Texas ;  Hampton  Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute,  Virginia ; 
Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 

There  was,  perhaps,  in  the  whole  country  no  greater  power 
for  good  at  that  time  than  the  American  Missionary  Associa- 
tion, the  A.  M.  A.  as  it  beneficiaries  lovingly  call  it ;  Atlanta, 
Fisk,  Hampton,  and  numbers  of  other  schools  for  Negroes, 
owe  a  lasting  debt  to  the  heroic  band  of  women  and  men  who 
spent  themselves  and  all  they  owned  for  the  colored  people. 
Among  the  true  and  devoted  friends  of  the  Negro,  Mr.  Robert 
C.  Ogden  has  stood  for  many  years. 

A  great  many  colored  newspapers  were  started  during  this 
period,  about  eight  of  which  number  are  still  being  published. 
Among  Negro  authors  were  Bishop  Daniel  A.  Payne,  Rev. 
Benjamin  T.  Tanner,  James  Monroe  Trotter,  Sr.,  Wm.  Still  and 
H.  O.  Flipper.  Throughout  this  period  the  Negro,  North  and 
South,  began  to  show  to  the  world  his  inate  love  for  music, 
and  his  capacity  for  high  attainment  along  musical  lines.   Some 


174  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE   NEGRO 


noted  musicians  were  Anna  Madah  and  Emma  Louise  Hyers, 
of  California;  Frederick  Elliot  Lewis,  of  Boston;  Miss  Nellie 

E.  Brown,  of  Dover,  New  Hampshire ;  Samuel  W.  Jamison,  of 
Washington,  D.  C. ;  Joseph  White,  of  Matanzas,  Cuba ;  Thom- 
as Greene  Bethune,  known  as  Blind  Tom.  The  latter  was 
born  near  Columbus,  Georgia,  in  1849,  but  though  blind  from 
birth,  he  was  a  born  musician. 

He  became  quite  a  pet  in  his  master's  family  and  before  he 
was  two  years  old  was  able  to  sing  second  to  anything  he 
heard.  When  he  was  four,  a  piano  was  brought  to  the  house 
and  at  his  first  opportunity,  Tom  surprised  his  master's  family 
by  playing  several  pieces  he  had  heard.  When  they  realized 
that  he  was  a  genius,  they  allowed  him  to  play  whenever  he 
wanted  to  do  so  and  he  soon  began  to  compose  "what  the  wind, 
or  the  birds,  or  the  trees  said  to  him."  Tom  finally  gave  con- 
certs in  many  American  and  European  cities.  He  knew  by 
heart  fully  seven  thousand  pieces  and  everywhere  received  the 
highest  praise  from  musical  critics. 

The  Colored  American  Opera  Company  was  organized  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  on  February  3rd,  1873,  gave  its  first 
performance.  Prof.  John  Esputa  was  musical  director,  and 
Mr.  Henry  Donohue,  business  manager.  The  principal  singers 
were  Mrs.  Agnes  Gray  Smallwood,  soprano ;  Miss  Lena  Mil- 
ler, contralto;  Miss  Mary  A.  C.  Coakley,  contralto;  Mr.  Henry 

F.  Grant,  tenor;  Mr.  Richard  Tompkins,  tenor;  Mr.  William 
T.   Benjamin,  baritone;   Mr.   George  Jackson,   baritone;   Mr. 

.  Thos.  H.  Williams,  basso  profundo.  The  company  gave  sev- 
eral presentations  of  the  "Doctor  of  Alcantara"  in  Washing- 
ton and  in  Philadelphia,  and  received  favorable  comment  from 
competent  critics. 

The  Jubilee  Singers  of  Fisk  University  became  famous 
through  singing  the  folk  songs  of  the  Negro  people.  #  "Shortly 
after  the  close  of  the  war  a  number  of  philanthropic  persons 
from  the  North  gathered  into  an  old  government  building  that 
had  been  used  for  storage  purposes,  a  number  of  freed  children 
and   some  grown  persons   living  in   and   near   Nashville,   and 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  175 


formed  a  school.  Professor  Ogden  was  at  first  in  charge,  but 
ere  long"  the  school  was  taken  under  the  care  of  the  A.  M .  A." 
When  the  number  of  pupils  made  it  necessary  to  have  more 
room,  the  question  as  to  where  the  money  would  come  from 
was  answered  by  Mr.  George  L.  White,  one  of  the  teachers. 
"He  had  often  been  struck  with  the  charming  melody  of  the 
'slave  songs'  that  he  had  heard  sung  by  the  children  of  the 
school ;  believing  that  these  songs,  so  peculiarly  beautiful  and 
heart-touching,  sung  as  they  were  by  these  scholars  with  such 
naturalness  of  manner  and  sweetness  of  voice,  would  fall  with 
delightful  novelty  upon  Northern  ears,  Mr.  W  nite  conceived 
the  idea  of  taking  a  company  of  the  students  over  the  country, 
in  order  to  obtain  sufficient  funds  to  build  a  college.''  The 
company  left  Nashville  in  the  fall  of  1871,  and  not  onlv  toured 
the  Northern  states  but  went  through  Great  Britain  and  sang 
before  the  Queen  and  others  of  the  nobility.  They  met  with 
astounding  success  along  all  lines,  and  returned  to  Nashville 
in  1874  with  more  than  ninety  thousand  dollars. 

During  the  war,  Jefferson  Davis,  President  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, pointed  out  to  a  visiting  Englishman  a  Negro  sleeping 
in  broad  daylight  upon  a  bale  of  cotton,  and  said :  "Pie  will 
never  wake  up."  Davis  was  using  this  Negro  as  a  symbol  of 
the  race  and  most  slaveholders  agreed  with  him.  "The  Negro 
is  stupid,  he  is  dumb,  he  has  no  soul,  he  is  a  beast,  he  is  lost  to 
the  beauties  and  the  duties  of  civilization,  he  will  never  wake 
up."  So  they  soothed  each  other  and  excused  themselves  for 
their  treatment  of  the  Negro.  But  the  Negro  in  freedom  at 
once  woke  up  and  began  to  buy  the  homes  which  his  masters 
had  owned,  began  to  eagerly  receive  education,  to  acceptably 
till  high  positions  and  in  every  way  to  show  his  manliness. 

His  detractors  were  disappointed  and  chagrined  and  they 
agreed  that  "the  Negro  must  be  kept  down;"  they  had  several 
ways  of  doing  this.  When  the  great  financial  panic  of  1873 
swept  over  the  country,  the  attention  of  the  North  was  turned 
to  money  matters.  The  Southerners  then  determined  to  drive 
out  the  Republican  party,  and  form  a  Democratic  solid  South, 


176  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


so  their  secret  societies  became  more  active  than  ever.  Col- 
ored property  owners  were  falsely  charged  with  being  "de- 
linquent in  taxes;"  employers  refused  to  pay  for  service  rend- 
ered on  plantations,  by  what  was  called  the  credit  system,  the 
laborers  were  charged  extortionate  prices  for  their  food  and 
clothing,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  get  out  of  debt ; 
the  "shot-gun  policy"  kept  white  and  colored  Republicans  from 
the  polls,  and  this  period  which  saw  the  beginning  of  Republi- 
can rule  in  the  South,  saw  also  its  end. 

With  the  end  of  Republican  power  came  the  end  of  anything 
like  justice  to  the  Negro  and  in  1879  about  sixty  thousand  col- 
ored people  left  the  South  to  find  refuge  in  the  North  and 
West.  Some  thousands  of  them  scattered  through  the  sev- 
eral states,  but  the  majority  made  their  home  in  Kansas.  Most 
of  them  were  destitute,  and  here  again  kind  white  friends 
sprang  to  the  rescue,  and  organized  the  Kansas  Freedman's 
Relief  Association.  "Money  and  clothing  came  on  every 
train  and  as  fast  as  the  association  could  secure  hones  for  the 
refugees  they  were  distributed  throughout  the  state"  where, 
by  their  industrious  and  sober  conduct  they  won  the  good- 
will of  all. 

The  Freedman's  Savings  and  Trust  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  1865,  and  a  large  number  of  banks  were  opened  in 
different  cities  for  the  accommodation  of  the  colored  people. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  year,  $305,167  had  been  deposited  and 
within  eight  years  about  fifty-seven  millions  of  dollars  had 
been  deposited.  In  1873,  owing  to  bad  management,  the 
banks  failed  and  carried  down  with  them  the  hopes  of  thou- 
sands of  poor  people  who  had  pinched  and  contrived  in  order 
to  have  a  bank  account.  No  human  being  can  measure  the 
far-reaching  consequences  of  that  bank  failure. 

Negro  churches  had  steadily  been  growing  in  number  and 
influence  and  their  ministers  were  acknowledged  leaders  of 
the  people,  and  well  were  they  qualified  for  the  task.  In  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  were  Bishops  Holly  and  Fergu- 


A   NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  V77 


son,  Dr.  Alexander  Crummell ;  among  Baptists  were  I).  VV. 
Anderson,  L.  A.  Grimes,  Samuel  VV.  Madden,  Ja  nes  Poin- 
dexter,  Wallace  Shelton ;  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Z.  Church  were 
Bishop  Joseph  J.  Clinton  and  others;  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church 
were  Bishops  Shorter,  Payne,  Wayman,  Campbell,  Browta, 
Ward,  Turner,  Dickerson  and  Cain ;  among  Presbyterians 
were  Rev.  H.  H.  Garnet  and  Rev.  Francis  J.  Grimke  ;  in  the 
M.  E.  Church  were  Rev.  Marshall  Taylor  and  Rev.AVm.^T. 
Boyd.  These  men,  and  others  like  them,  were  pathfinders 'aricl 
made  their  mark  upon  their  day,  blazing  the  way  for  'future 
generations. 


- "  ..  >  £  .' 


178  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 

CHAPTER  XX. 
HELPS  AND  HINDRANCES. 

THE  years  from  1880  onward  have  witnessed  a  marvellous 
development  of  the  whole  human  family.  During  this 
period,  which  has  been  fitly  called  the  Electric  Age,  the 
Negro  has  not  been  idle,  and  while  rrany  things  have  hap- 
pened to  discourage  him,  many  others  have  made  for  his  bet- 
terment. The  repeal  of  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  struck  the  key- 
note for  adverse  legislation,  and  beginning  with  Mississippi,  in 
18i)0,  nearly  all  of  the  Southern  states  have  inserted  into  their 
constitutions  clauses  by  which  the  right  of  voting  has  been  art- 
fully withdrawn  from  the  Negro,  thus  leaving  his  interests  in 
the  hands  of  his  avowed  enemies, 

To  frame  laws  by  which  colored  people  are  not  allowed  in 
the  regular  coaches  of  the  railroads  of  the  South,  and  are  re- 
stricted to  certain  portions  of  the  street  cars,  was  another  step 
in  the  sa  i.e  direction;  refusal  to  accommodate  Negroes  in 
hotels,  restaurants  and  other  places  of  public  services  ;  selling 
to  them  only  certain  seats  in  places  of  amusement  or  abso- 
lutely refusing  them  admittance  to  the  same,  are  outrages  of 
a  similar  character.  The  recent  attempt  to  segregate,  or  con- 
fine, the  Negro  to  certain  sections  of  a  city  is  another  example 
of  the  extent  to  which  prejudice  will  lead  those  in  power. 

Throughout  this  period,  hundreds  of  the  most  barbarous 
lynchings  of  colored  persons  have  taken  place,  not  only  in  the 
South  but  sometimes  North  and  West ;  race  riots  have  broken 
out  in  several  places,  but  the  Atlanta  massacre  which  occurred 
in  September,  1906,  was  perhaps  the  most  atrocious  affair  of 
all.  The  committee  of  business  men  who  investigated  the  mat- 
ter referred  to  the  whites  who  had  composed  the  mob  as  a  set 
of  "toughs  who  have  crucified  Atlanta  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world/'  These  toughs  made  no  attempt  to  locate  accused 
criminals,  "instead  they  took  those  who  could  be  the  most 
quickly   and  conveniently    found,    and   these,   naturally,   were 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  179 


Negroes  of  the  best  sort,  quietly  working  at  respectable  trades 
in  the  center  of  the  city." 

"Among  the  victims  of  the  mob  was  not  a  single  vagrant. 
The  victims  were  earning  wages  in  useful  work  up  to  the 
time  of  the  riot.  Most  of  the  dead  left  small  children  and 
widows,  mothers  or  sisters  with  practically  no  means  and 
very  small  earning  capacity.  At  least  twelve  Negroes  were 
killed  and  about  seventy  wounded.  Many  of  the  latter  are 
disfigured  or  permanently  disabled."  It  has  been  said  that 
one  of  the  results  of  the  massacre,  was  to  bring  about  a  better 
understanding  between  the  white  and  colored  citizens  of 
Atlanta. 

Speaking  of  the  deep  significance  and  awful  effect  of  lynch- 
ing, a  writer  says:  "No  one  can  look  at  one  of  the  photographs 
of  a  lynching,  without  a  sense  of  abysmal  horror.  It  is  not 
the  horror  alone  of  the  thing  itself,  the  ugly,  inanimate  center 
of  the  tragedy.  It  is  the  faces  of  the  spectators  that  shock  our 
very  souls.  They  are  always  laughing  faces.  Good  nature, 
even  jollity,  seems  to  be  the  keynote  of  these  gatherings  Always 
we  see  the  faces  of  little  boys  grinning  cheerfully  toward  the 
camera.  There  are  women  sometimes  in  the  crowd,  and  some- 
times little  girls.  There  is  no  sign  in  these  pictures  of  horror 
of  death,  even  of  grim  satisfaction  over  a  difficult  and  ob- 
noxious task  performed  by  necessity.  The  man  who  called  it 
a  'lynching  bee'  appreciated  the  true  feelings  of  the  lynchers. 
Leave  out  the  grim  wreck  in  the  center  and  the  picture  might 
be  taken  for  an  ordinary  cheerful  gathering  at  a  country  fair. 
Leave  it  in,  and  oh,  my  brothers,  it  is  not  the  dead,  but  the 
living  that  terrifies." 

As  has  been  suggested,  the  conditions  just  spoken  of  and 
similar  ones  hartfe  had  a  discouraging  effect  upon  the  colored 
people,  but,  "nothing  is  settled  until  it  is  settled  right."  We 
know  that  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  our  forefathers 
endured  the  yoke  of  a  cruel  slavery;  but  they,  hoped  and 
prayed  and  trusted  for  the  day  of  freedom.     Thousands  died 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


before  that  day  dawned,  but  millions  were  here  to  greet  it 
and  multiplied  millions  are  now  enjoying  it.  We  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  our  foreparents  ;  we  may  not  only  hope,  pray  and 
trust,  but  with  all  the  power  that  is  in  us  we  must  faithfully 
and  earnestly  work  in  whatever  direction  our  abilities  and  con- 
victions  lie,  for  the  full  and  perfect  freedom  which  will  one 
day  be  ours.  Do  not  doubt,  for  doubt  is  the  death-knell  of 
hope ;  do  not  despair,  for  despair  is  the  end  of  endeavor. 

Said  Frederick  Douglass,  "the  destiny  of  the  colored  race 
is  "in  their  own  hands,  they  must  bear  and  suffer,  they  must 
toil  and  be  patient,  they  must  carve  their  own  fortunes,  and 
they  will  do  it." 

As  you  know,  Negro  churches,  schools,  benevolent  societies 
••and  other  organizations  have  for  years  been  working  toward 
"racial  uplift.  In  1881,  Bishop  Daniel  A.  Payne  organized  in 
Bethel  (now  Metropolitan)  A.  M.  E.  Church  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  a  Literary  and  Historical  Society,  before  which  organ- 
ization, have  appeared  from  time  to  time,  some  of  the  most 
•brilliantly  intellectual  men  and  women  of  the  race  ;  similar  or- 
ganizations now  exist  in  many  cities. 

In  18-81  was  started  at  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  by  Booker  T. 
Washington,  a  graduate  of  Hampton,  The  Tuskeegee  Normal 
and  Industrial  Institute.  If  you  remember  the  plans  of  the 
:Negro  Convention  of  1831,  .you  will  see  that  this  school  is 
similar  to  the  one  then  mapped  out.  The  story  of  the  rise  and 
development  of  Tuskegee  is  familiar  to  ail  as  well  as  the  fact 
that  through  it  has  begun  a  world-movement  for  instruction 
■  along  industrial  lines.  A  visitor  to  the  twenty-fifth  anniver- 
sary of  the  founding  of  Tuskegee,  held  in  April,  189G,  wrote: 
"In  the  largest  degree  the  hope  of  the  Negro  race,  the  hope 
of  solving  the  greatest  of  all  our  national  problems  which 
burdens  the  white  race  as  well  as  the  black,  lias  been  bound 
up  in  Tuskegee  for  twenty-five'  years  and  is  bound  up  in  it 
and  its  off-shoots  today,  when  a  future,  none  too  auspicious, 
and  fraught  with  peculiar  difficulties,  looms  ahead." 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  J8r 


In  addition  to  Tuskegee  and  the  schools  named  in  a  previous 
chapter,  there  are  more  than  one  hundred  colleges  and  indus- 
trial schools  for  Negroes,  besides  the  hundreds  of  primary  and 
secondary  public  schools  scattered  over  the  country.  Com- 
paring this  with  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  colonies,  the  con- 
dition seems  to  be  a  hopeful  one. 

Although  the  "forty  acres  and  a  mule"  failed  him,  the 
Negro  has  become  a  landowner  on  his  own  account  and  be- 
sides developing  a  passion  for  education,  has  developed  "land 
hunger.''  ''The  race  that  owned  scarcely  an  acre  of  land  fifty 
years  ago,  is  now  possessor,  as  landlords,  of  an  area  larger 
than  Belgium  and  Holland  combined,"  and  is  rapidly  buying 
more.  "The  desire  to  own  a' home  is  one  of  the  most  en- 
couraging of  all  traits  in  the  masses  of  a  nation."  Home  is 
the  cradle  of  the  virtues.  A  man  is  not  quite  up  to  the  stand- 
ard until  he  can  say  proudly  to  himself  "This  is  my  own,  my 
precious  home,"  and  if  he  be  able  to  add  "and  all  paid  for," 
so  much  the  better.  He  has  given  the  best  possible  proof  of 
his  good  citizenship. 

In  1S8S  a  handful  of  colored  people,  under  the  leadership 
of  Mr.  Isaiah  T.  Montgomery,  settled  in  the  Yazoo  Delta, 
Mississippi,  and  beginning  to  clear  and  cultivate  the  ground, 
started  what  lias  become  known  as  the  town  of  Mound  Bayou. 
A  Negro  town,  in  the  heart  of  the  South,  where  the  ma} or, 
the  council,  and  all  the  citizens  are  colored.  Mound  Bayou 
and  similar  settlements  offer  proof  of  the  Negro's  ability  to 
govern  himself,  and  the  great  contrast  between  the  former 
condition  and  the  present  progressive  state  of  the  surrounding 
country  is  an  object  lesson. 

Mr.  Montgomery  was  born  in  slavery,  but  his  owners  were 
kind  and  although  it  was  against  the  law.  some  of  their  slaves 
were  allowed  to  learn  to  read,  write  and  keep  accounts.  His 
early  advantages,  added  to  his  great  natural  ability,  made 
Isaiah  Montgomery  a  natural  leader  of  men,  and  when  the 
opportunity  came  to  colonize  the  section  around  Mound  Bayou 
he  did  not  lack  for  followers. 


1 82  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


"Gradually  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  years  the  region 
around  Mound  Bayou  has  altered  to  an  astonishing  extent. 
There  are  vast  cotton  plantations  where  there  was  once  thin 
forests;  there  are  streets  of  well-built  houses,  three  or  foar  of 
which  are  really  remarkable  for  their  architecture  and  hand- 
some furniture.  There  is  a  Negro  bank — the  'Delta  Bank;5 
there  are  one  or  more  cotton  ginneries,  and  a  large  oil  mill  for 
the  manufacture  of  cotton-seed  oil.  Within  the  principal  set- 
tlement of  Mound  Bayou  there  are  four  churches  and  as  many 
schools.  The  largest  of  the  churches  serves,  as  do  most  of 
these  ediees,  as  church,  lecture  hall,  theater,  council  hall,  and 
center  for  debating  society,  its  interior  is  entirely  lined  with 
varnished  pine  planks,  exceedingly  well  fitted,  and  giving  the 
interior  a  handsome  appearance,  especially  when  it  is  lit  up 
at  night  by  oil  lamps  and  chandeliers.  Two  of  the  handsome 
houses  in  the  town  were  constructed  by  a  firm  of  white  build- 
ers, but  all  the  rest  of  the  houses,  bank,  churches  and  schools, 
were  erected  by  Negro  masons  and  carpenters.  There  are 
good  stores  in  the  town,  selling  most  things  except  alcohol." 

During  the  period  of  which  we  are  talking  our  white  friends 
have  not  forgotten  us  and  of  the  man)-  practical  helps,  the  be- 
quest of  Mr.  George  Peabody,  which  was  marie  in  1867,  was 
the  forerunner  of  a  gift  to  the  Negro  alone,  of  one  million  of 
dollars  from  Mr.  Joseph  F.  Slater  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  in 
188'-?.  Mr.  Slater  requested  some  of  the  most  e  ninent  men 
of  the  country,  including  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  to  act  on  the  Board  of  Trustees.  A 
part  of  his  letter  to  them  reads  as  follows:  "The  general  object 
which  I  desire  to  have  exclusively  pursued,  is  the  uplifting  of 
the  lately  emancipated  population  of  the  Southern  States,  and 
their  posterity,  by  conferring  on  them  the  blessings  of  a  Chris- 
tian education.  The  disabilities  formerly  suffered  by  these 
people  and  their  singular  patience  and  fidelity  in  the  great 
crisis  of  the  nation,  establish  a  just  claim  on  the  sympathy  and 
good-will  of  humane  and  patriotic  men.     I  cannot  but  feel  the 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  183 


compassion  that  is  due  in  view  of  their  prevailing  ignorance 
which  exists  by  no  fault  of  their  own." 

"But  it  is  not  only  for  their  sake,  but  also  for  the  safety  of 
our  common  country,  in  which  they  have  been  invested  with 
equal  political  rights,  that  I  am  desirous  to  aid  in  providing 
them  with  the  means  of  such  education  as  shall  tend  to  make 
them  good  men  and  good  citizens,  education  in  which  the  in- 
struction of  the  mind  in  the  comman  branches  of  secular  learn- 
ing shall  be  associated  with  training  in  just  notions  of  duty 
toward  God  and  man,  in  the  light  of  the  holy  Scriptures." 

In  1909,  Miss  Anna  T.  Jeannes,  a  Quaker  lady  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, left  two  millions  of  dollars  as  a  fund  for  the  education 
of  colored  people.  Hon.  Win.  Howard  Taft,  now  President 
of  the  United  States,  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
and  the  colored  members  are  Dr.  Booker  T.  Washington, 
Major  R.  R.  Moten,  Rev.  H.  T.  Kealing  and  Hon.  J.  C.  Napier. 
In  1911,  the  Trustees  of  the  Slater  and  Jeannes  Funds  were 
assisting  schools  in  twenty-five  hundred  communities.  Mr. 
W.  T.  B.  Williams  of  Hampton  is  traveling  agent  for  the 
General  Education  Board. 

The  Spanish-American  War  gave  another  opportunity  to 
the  Negro  soldier  to  show  the  spirit  within  him.  For  a  hun- 
dred years  Cuba  had  been  restless  under  the  heavy  yoke  of 
Spain  and  the  people  had  many  tines  arisen  in  revolt.  During 
the  revolution  which  broke  out  in  1S!)5,  the  sympathy  of  the 
civilized  world  was  with  the  Cubans,  and  when  the  United 
States  battleship  Maine  was  destroyed  in  the  harbor  of  Ha- 
vana in  1898,  war  was  declared  with  Spain. 

The  Negro  was,  as  usual,  eager  to  take  America's  part  in 
the  struggle,  and  several  volunteer  companies  were  raised  in 
the  different  states.  Four  companies  of  volunteers,  known  as 
the  Seventh,  Eighth,  Ninth  and  Tenth  Immunes,  were  formed 
and  officered  with  colored  men  from  the  grade  of  second  lieu- 
tenant down.  Brevet-Major  Charles  E.  Young,  a  graduate 
of  West  Point,  was  in  command  of  the  Ninth  Ohio  Battalion, 


A -NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


and:L,ieutenant  John  H.  Alexander,  also  of  West  Point,  served 
in  Cuba.  The  Eighth  Regiment  Illinois  National  Guards  was 
entirely;  officered  by  colored  men,  Col.  J.  R.  Marshall  com- 
manding. •.  While  in  the  province  of  Santiago  the  Eighth  Illi- 
nois did-  garrison  duty  for  some  months  after  the  war  and  for 
a  while  Colonel  Marshall  acted  as  military  governor  of  San 
Luis, 

"About  one  hundred  Negro  second  lieutenants  were  com- 
missioned in  the  volunteer  force  during  the  Spanish-American 
War.  There  were  two  Negro  paymasters,  John  R.  Lynch,  of 
Mississippi,  fourth  auditor  of  the  United  States  Treasury,  and 
Richard  R.  Wright,  of  Georgia,  president  of  the  State  Agri- 
cultural and  Mechanical  College  for  colored  persons.  Two 
Negro  chaplains  were  commissioned,  the  Rev.  C.  T.  Walker, 
of  Georgia,  and  the  Rev.  Richard  Carroll,  of  South  Carolina." 
.■."The  fighting  of  the  black  troops  in  Cuba  won  the  confi- 
dence of  the  white  soldiers  and  their  officers,  and  was  highly 
commended.,  Colonel  Roosevelt  said  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Ninth  and  Tenth  Cavalry  reflected  honor  on  the  whole  Ameri- 
can people,  especially  on  their  own  race.  Several  colored  non- 
commissioned officers  were  promoted  for  gallant  conduct  in 
Cuba.'.'  The  Twenty-fourth  and  Twenty-fifth  Infantry,  to- 
gether with  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Cavalry,  comprise  the  col- 
ored soldiers  in  the  regular  army  and  these  soldiers  won  for 
themselves  "an  unfading  halo  of  glory."  So  again,  you  see, 
American  Negroes  proved  themselves,  as  one  writer  has  said 
of  the  native  Africans,  to  be  the  greatest  natural  warriors  of 
the  earth. 

■  1-11:1906,  colored  troops  of  the  25th  Infantry  stationed  at 
Brownsville,  Texas,  were  charged  with  firing  upon  the  citizens 
and  President  Roosevelt  immediately  discharged  them  "with- 
out honor,"  from  the  army. 

Among  the  Cuban  soldiers  also,  were  many  intrepid  fight- 
ers of  African  descent;  Gen.  Quentin  Bandera,  the  famous 
black. :  chieftain,  was  noted  for  his  fearlessness  and  bravery. 
Until  his  death,  at  the  age  of    sixty    years,  in  1906,  General 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  185 


Bandera  was  greatly  beloved  by  Negro  Cubans  with  whom  he 
had  a  powerful  influence.  Antonio  and  Jose  Maceo  were  also 
famous  generals. 

Organized  Negro  womanhood  has  played  no  small  part  in 
the  development  of  the  race  and  the  hundreds  of  women's 
clubs  which  exist  in  this  country  cover  nearly  every  phase  of 
club  work.  Colored  women  have  always  played  a  prominent 
part  in  church  and  benevolent  society  activities,  but  beginning 
with  the  later  eighties,  the  women  began  to  recognize  the  great 
need  for  helping  along  lines  which  neither  the  church  nor  the 
societies  touched. 

The  chief  concern  of  the  individual  home  is  the  comfort, 
peace  and  happiness  of  the  men,  women  and  children  who 
compose  it.  Women  began  to  see  that  the  village,  the  town- 
ship, the  city,  the  whole  country  indeed,  are  merely  enlarged 
homes,  entirely  concerned  with  the  well-being  of  men.  women 
and  children — needing  and  claiming  the  enthusiasm,  the  ten- 
der insight  and  the  ministering  care  of  women  as  well  as  the 
strength  and  wisdom  of  men. 

Almost  simultaneously  there  sprang  up  in  several  cities 
clubs  for  the  support  of  Orphan  Homes,  Homes  for  the  Aged, 
Kindergarten,  Day  Nurseries,  etc.  In  the  beginning,  the 
women's  club  did  not  have  an  easy  time.  The  word  "Club" 
had  been  associated  in  the  minds  of  people  with  all  that  was 
gay  and  hilarious,  and  it  took  some  time  to  assure  people  of 
the  earnestness  and  seriousness  of  the  Colored  Women's  Club 
Movement.  Then  there  was  the  barrier  which  denominations 
had  drawn  and  when  a  club  was  able  to  gather  women  of  all 
denominations,  it  was  quite  a  matter  for  boasting.  Cut  such 
conditions  have  passed  so  long  ago  that  one  only  vaguely  re- 
members them. 

There  began  to  be  a  feeling  among  club  women  that  a  na- 
tional organization  should  be  formed  and  when  there  appeared 
in  a  Missouri  paper  in  1895  an  article  in  which  Negro  woman- 
hood was  atrociously  libelled,  the  Woman's  Era  Club  of  Bos- 


1 86  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


ton,  Mrs.  Josephine  St.  Pierre  Ruffin,  founder  and  president, 
issued  a  call  for  a  conference  between  representatives  of  the 
clubs  which  existed  in  several  states  of  the  Union. 

"About  one  hundred  women  representing  twenty-five  clubs, 
from  ten  different  states,  composed  the  conference  which  at- 
tracted wide  attention,  because  it  was  the  first  of  its  kind  and 
highly  representative  of  the  best  intelligence  of  the  women  of 
the  colored  race."  An  organization  was  formed  of  which  the 
following  officers  were  elected:  Mrs.  Booker  T.  Washington. 
Tuskegee,  president;  Mrs.  U.  A.  Ridley,  Brooklyn,  secretary; 
Mrs.  Libbie  C.  Anthony,  Jefferson  City,  Mo.,  treasurer ;  Mrs. 
Victoria  Earle  Matthews,  New  York,  chairman  of  executive 
committee. 

In  1896  these  women  and  many  others  met  in  Washington, 
I).  C,  and  formed  the  National  Association  of  Colored  Wo- 
men, of  which  Mrs.  Mary  Church  Terrell  was  elected  presi- 
dent. Mrs.  Terrell  served  for  three  terms,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Mrs.  J.  Silone  Yates,  of  Missouri.  Mrs.  Lucy  Thurman 
was  next  president  and  she  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Elizabeth 
Carter  of  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

Among  the  many  clubs  which  are  doing  notable  work  in 
their  several  communities  are  the  Phillis  Wheatley  Club  of 
New  Orleans,  the  Loyal  Union  of  Brooklyn,  the  Woman's 
Club  of  Jackson,  Miss.,  the  Women's  Loyal  Union  of  New 
Bedford,  the  Dorcas  Society  of  Brooklyn,  the  Phillis  Wheat- 
ley  Club  of  Chicago,  the  Fresh  Air  and  Empty  Stocking  Club 
of  Baltimore,  the  Lincoln  Home  Club  of  Springfield.  111.,  the 
famous  Woman's  Era  Club  of  Boston  and  the  Kindergarten 
Associations  of  Atlanta  and  Charleston. 

The  National  Association  of  Colored  Women  is  affiliated 
with  the  National  and  International  Councils  of  Women,  and 
when  some  years  ago  Mrs.  Mary  Church  Terrell  appeared 
before  the  latter  body  at  a  meeting  held  in  Berlin,  and  deliv- 
ered her  address  in  German,  French  and  English,  the  incident 
created  world-wide  comment  and  was  looked  upon  as  reflect- 
ing great  credit,  not  only  upon  the  speaker,  but  upon  the  race 
which  she  represented. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  187 


Besides  those  who  have  served  as  presidents  of  the  National 
the  following  named  women  have  given  loyal  and  constant 
service:  Mrs.  Booker  T.  Washington,  Tuskegee ;  Mrs.  Jef- 
fries, Rochester;  Mrs.  Josephine  B.  Bruce,  Washington;  Ida 
Joyce  Jackson,  Columbus,  O. ;  Man-  Parrish,  Louisville;  Jo- 
sephine Holmes,  Atlanta ;  Sylvanie  Williams,  New  Orleans. 

The  American  Negro  Academy,  founded  at  Washington,  D. 
C,  in  1897,  by  Dr.  Alexander  Crummell,  has  drawn  to  itself 
from  many  states  some  of  the  most  brilliant  intellects  which 
the  race  has  produced.  The  first  officers  were:  Dr.  Crummell, 
president;  Walter  B.  Hayson,  Kelly  Miller  and  John  W. 
Cromwell,  secretary.  Dr.  W.  E.  B.  Dubois  succeeded  Dr. 
Crummell  as  president  and  was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Archibald 
Grimke. 

The  academy  holds  an  annual  meeting  at  which  time  matters 
of  vital  interest  to  the  race  are  ably  discussed.  From  time  to 
time,  in  pamphlet  form,  are  published  articles  of  historical  or 
sociological  value  by  colored  authors. 

The  National  Negro  Business  League,  founded  by  Dr. 
Booker  T.  Washington,  was  organized  in  August,  1900,  at  Bos- 
ton, Mass.  The  league  holds  an  annual  session,  and  has  been 
the  means  of  bringing  into  personal  contact  business  and  pro- 
fessional men  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  has  given  a 
tremendous  impulse  to  the  business  activities  which  were  in 
existence  when  the  league  was  formed  and  it  has  also  inspired 
others,  for  in  nearly  every  community  there  is  some  enter- 
prise which  owes  its  existence  to  the  Business  League.  Y\  il- 
liam  Lloyd  Garrison,  son  of  the  famous  Abolitionist  was  pres- 
ent at  the  first  meeting  of  the  league,  and  delivered  an  address, 
a  part  of  which  follows:  "The  particular  word  1  wish  to  leave 
with  you  is  this :  Aim  to  be  your  own  employers  as  soon  as 
possible.  If  you  are  farmers,  do  not  rest  until  you  control  the 
land  on  which  you  live.  He  who  is  compelled  to  till  another's 
land  is  in  a  degree  dependent  and  a  bondsman.  If  you  are 
mechanics,  seek  first  to  own  a  home  without  a  mortgage,  fore- 


1 88  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


going  man}/  tilings  until  you  are  free  of  debt.  Independence 
and  debt  cannot  keep  company.  In  the  South  as  in  the  North, 
possession  of  honestly  earned  property  will  surely  bring  re- 
spect and  increase  personal  security." 

Perhaps  nothing  of  deeper  significance  to  our  country  and 
our  race  has  happened  since  the  Civil  War  than  the  organiza- 
tion, in  1909,  of  the  National  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Colored  People.  The  association  has  been  called  the 
New  Abolition  Movement  and  it  is  composed  of  white  and 
colored  people  who  have  the  best  interests  of  the  American  re- 
public at  heart.  Its  work  is  outlined  as  follows:  "The  Na- 
tional Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Colored  People  is 
an  organization  composed  of  men  and  women  of  all  races  and 
classes  who  believe  that  the  present  widespread  increase  of 
prejudice  against  colored  races  and  particularly  the  denial  of 
rights  and  opportunities  to  ten  million  Americans  of  Negro 
descent  is  not  only  unjust  and  a  menace  to  our  free  institu- 
tions, but  also  is  a  direct  hindrance  to  world  peace  and  the 
realization  of  human   brotherhood." 

"Methods. — The  encouragement  of  education  and  efforts 
for  social  uplift;  the  dissemination  of  literature;  the  holding 
of  mass  meetings ;  the  maintenance  of  a  lecture  bureau ;  the 
encouragement  of  vigilance  committees ;  the  investigation  of 
complainants;  the  maintenance  of  a  bureau  of  information; 
the  publication  of  the  Crisis;  the  collection  of  facts  and  pub- 
lication of  the  truth. 

"The  officers  of  the  organization  are :  National  President, 
Mr.  Moorfield  Story,  Boston,  Mass. ;  Chairman  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee,  Mr.  Oswald  Garrison  Yillard ;  Treasurer,  Mr. 
Walter  E.  Sachs  ;  Director  of  Publicity  and  Research,  Dr.  W. 
E.  B.  Dubois;  Executive  Secretary,  Miss  Mary  W.  Ovington." 

The  Crisis  is  edited  by  Dr.  Dubois  and  the  increase  in  its 
circulation  ha-,  been  marvellously  rapid.  This  has  been  said 
to  be  due  almost  entirely  to  the  able  manner  in  which  it  is 
edited. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  1S9 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
TWO  WAYS  OF  THINKING. 

DURING  the  period  to  which  the  last  chapter  refers  there 
arose  the  two  great  schools  of  Xegro  thought,  which,  for 
want  of  more  exact  terms,  have  come  to  be  known  as  the 
Conservative  and  the  Radical.  Briefly  stated,  the  Conserva- 
tive school  of  thinkers  lays  most  stress  upon  the  opportunities 
and  privileges  which  Negroes  enjoy  in  this  country,  while  the 
Radicals  insist  upon  the  rights  of  which  we  are  deprived.  Each 
side  is  most  intensely  in  earnest  and  both  seek  the  highest  good 
of  the  Xegro.  The  difference  seems  to  lie  in  opinion  as  to  how 
this  highest  good  is  to  be  secured. 

THE  CONSERVATIVES. 

The  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Conservatives  is  Dr.  Booker 
T.  Washington,  the  Sage  of  Tuskegee.  while  Dr.  William  E. 
Burghardt  Dubois,  is  the  accepted  leader  of  the  Radicals. 
Booker  T.  Washington  was  born  a  slave  in  1858  or  18-30,  in 
Franklin  County,  Ya.  After  the  war,  the  family  moved  to 
West  Virginia,  and  young  Booker  worked  for  a  while  in  the 
salt  furnaces  and  coal  mines,  spending  his  leisure  time  (of 
which  he  had  but  little)  in  learning  his  letters.  But  he  was 
possessed  of  the  passion  for  knowledge,  which,  as  you  know, 
characterizes  the  Xegro,  and  having  heard  of  Hampton  Insti- 
tute, he  determined  to  go  to  that  school.  Going  partly  on  foot, 
partly  by  coach,  and  partly  by  railroad,  the  lad  finally  reached 
Hampton,  where,  by  his  industry  and  determination  he  com- 
pleted the  course  and  made  many  friends  among  the  teachers. 

When,  in  1880  the  call  came  for  some  one  to  do  the  rough 
pioneer  work  of  establishing  a  school  at  Tuskegee,  Ala.,  Dr. 
S.  C.  Armstrong,  founder  of  Hampton,  recommended  Mr. 
Washington  and  thus  "  the  man  and  the  hour "  met.  At 
Tuskegee    the    same    ideals   prevail    which    made    Hampton   a 


190  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


power  and  no  one  can  measure  the  good  accomplished.  Dr. 
Washington  has  had  many  honors  conferred  upon  him  at 
home  and  abroad.  Among  the  most  notable  of  the  former  is 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  conferred  bv  Harvard 


DR.   BOOKER  T.  WASHINGTON. 


University.  During  his  trips  to  Europe  he  has  had  audiences 
with  crowned  heads  and  has  won  the  personal  friendship  of 
members  of  the  nobility.  Dr.  Washington  is  the  author  of 
several  books  which  arc  being  widely  read. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  191 


DR.    WASHINGTON'S    ATLANTA    EXPOSITION    SPEECH. 

Perhaps  the  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Washington  upon  the 
occasion  of  the  opening  of  the  Atlanta  Exposition  in  Septem- 
ber. 1895,  will  explain  his  position  most  clearly.  It  was  as 
follows:  "  One  third  of  the  population  of  the  South  is  of  the 
Negro  race.  No  enterprise  seeking  the  material,  civil,  or  moral 
welfare  of  this  section  can  disregard  this  element  of  our 
population  and  reach  the  highest  success.  I  but  convey  to  you. 
Air.  President  and  Directors,  the  sentiment  of  the  masses  of 
my  race  when  I  say. that  in  no  way  have  the  value  and  manhood 
of  the  American  Negro  been  more  fittingly  and  generously 
recognized  than  by  the  managers  of  this  magnificent  Exposition 
at  every  stage  of  its  progress.  It  is  a  recognition  that  will  do 
more  to  cement  the  friendship  of  the  two  races  than  any  occur- 
rence since  the  dawn  of  our  freedom. 

"  Not  only  this,  but  the  opportunity  here  afforded  will 
awaken  among  us  a  new  era  of  industrial  progress.  Ignorant 
and  inexperienced,  it  is  not  strange  that  in  the  first  years  of 
our  new  life  we  began  at  the  top  instead  of  at  the  bottom ;  that 
a  seat  in  Congress  or  the  State  Legislature  was  more  sought 
than  real  estate  or  industrial  skill ;  that  the  political  convention 
or  stump  speaking  had  more  attractions  than  starting  a  dairy 
farm  or  truck  garden." 

"  A  ship  lost  at  sea  for  many  days  suddenly  sighted  a  friendly 
vessel.  From  the  mast  of  the  unfortunate  vessel  was-  seen  a 
signal :  '  Water,  water ;  we  die  of  thirst/  The  answer  from  the 
friendly  vessel  at  once  came  back :  '  Cast  down  your  bucket 
where  you  are.'  A  second  time  the  signal,  '  Water,  water;  send 
us  water,'  ran  up  from  the  distressed  vessel  and  was  answered, 
'Cast  down  your  bucket  where  you  are.'  And  a  third  and 
fourth  signal  for  water  was  answered :  'Cast  down  vour  bucket 


192  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


where  you  are.'  The  captain  of  the  distressed  vessel,  at  last 
heeding  the  injunction  cast  down  his  bucket  and  it  came  up  full 
of  fresh,  sparkling  water  from  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  River. 
To  those  of  my  race  who  depend  on  bettering  their  condition 
in  a  foreign  land,  or  who  underestimate  the  importance  of 
cultivating  friendly  relations  with  the  southern  white  man,  who 
is  their  next  door  neighbor,  I  would  say,  '  Cast  down  your 
bucket  where  you  are.'  Cast  it  down  in  making  friends  in  every 
manly  way  of  the  people  of  all  races  by  whom  we  are  sur- 
rounded. 

"  Cast  it  clown  in  agriculture,  mechanics,  in  commerce,  in 
domestic  service,  and  in  the  professions.  And  in  this  connec- 
tion it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  whatever  other  sins  the 
South  may  be  called  to  bear,  when  it  co  nes  to  business,  pure 
and  simple,  it  is  in  the  South  that  the  Negro  is  given  a  man's  _ 
chance  in  the  commercial  world,  and  in  nothing  is  this  Exposi- 
tion more  eloquent  than  in  emphasizing  this  chance.  Our 
greatest  clanger  is,  that  in  the  great  leap  from  slavery  to 
freedom  we  may  overlook  the  fact  that  the  masses  of  us  are 
to  live  by  the  productions  of  our  hands,  and  fail  to  keep  in 
mind  that  we  shall  prosper  in  proportion  as  we  learn  to  dignify 
and  glorify  common  labor,  and  put  brains  and  skill  into  the 
common  occupations  of  life ;  shall  prosper  in  proportion  as  we 
learn  to  draw  the  line  between  the  superficial  and  the  substan- 
tial, the  ornamental  geegaws  of  life  and  the  useful.  No  race 
can  prosper  till  it  learns  that  there  is  as  much  dignity  in  tilling 
a  field  as  in  writing  a  poem.  It  is  at  the  bottom  of  life  we  must 
begin,  and  not  at  the  top.  Nor  should  we  permit  our  grievances 
to  overshadow  our  opportunities. 

'  To  those  of  the  white  race  who  look  to  the  incoming  of 
those  of  foreign  birth  and  strange  tongue  and  habits  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  South,  were  I  permitted  I  would  repeat  what 
I  say  to  my  race,  '  Cast  down  your  bucket  where  you  are.' 
Cast  it  down  among  the  eight  million  Negroes  whose  habits  you 
know,  whose  fidelity  and  love  you  have  tested  in  days  when 
to  have  proved  treacherous  meant  the  ruin  of  your  firesides. 


A   NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  193 


Cast  down  your  bucket  among  these  people  who  have,  with- 
out strikes  and  labor  wars,  tilled  your  fields,  cleared  your  forests, 
budded  your  railroads  and  cities,  and  brought  forth  treasures 
from  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  helped  make  possible  this 
magnificent  representation  of  the  progress  of  the  South.  Cast- 
ing down  your  bucket  among  my  people,  helping  and  encourag- 
ing them  as  you  are  doing  on  these  grounds,  and  to  an  educa- 
tion of  head,  hand  and  heart,  you  will  rind  that  they  will  buy 
your  surplus  land,  make  blossom  the  waste  places  in  your  fields, 
and  run  your  factories.  While  doing  this  you  can  be  sure- -in 
the  future  as  in  the  past,  that  you  and  your  families  ■will  be 
surrounded  by  the  most  pat'ent,  faithful,  law-abiding  and  unre- 
sentful  people  that  the  world  has  seen.  As  we  have  proved 
our  loyalty  to  you  in  the  past,  in  nursing  your  children,  watch- 
ing by  the  sick  bed  of  your  mothers  and  fathers,  and  often 
following  them  with  tear-dimmed  eyes  to  their  graves,  so  in  the 
future,  in  our  humble  way,  we  shall  stand  by  you  with'a  devo- 
tion that  no  foreigner  can  approach,  ready  to  lay  down  our 
lives,  if  need  be,  in  defense  of  yours,  interlacing  our  industrial, 
commercial,  civil,  and  religious  life  with  yours- in  a  way  that 
shall  make  the  interests  of  both  races  one.  In  all  things  that 
are  purely  social  we  can  be  as  separate  as  the  fingers,  yet  one 
as  the  hand  in  all  things  essential  to  mutual  progress. 

"There  is  no  defense  or  security  for  any  of  us  except  in^tho 
highest  intelligence  and  development  of  all.  If  anywhere  there 
are  efforts  tending  to  curtail  the  fullest  growth  of  the  Xegro.Jet 
these  efforts  be  turned  into  stimulating,  encouraging  and  mak- 
ing him  the  most  useful  and  intelligent  citizen.  Effort  .or. -means 
so  invested  will  pay  a  thousand  per  cent  interest.  These  efforts 
will  be  twice  blessed  —  blessing  him  that  gives  and  him:. that 
takes.  i  ;    .    :  .-  ; 

"  There  is  no  escape  through  law  of  man  or  God  from  .the 
inevitable. 

"  The  laws  of  changeless  ^justice  bind 
( )ppressor  with  oppressed  ; 
And  close  as  sin  and  suffering  joined 
s  We  march  to  fate  abreast. 


i94  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


"  Nearly  sixteen  millions  of  hands  will  aid  you  in  pulling  the 
load  upwards,  or  they  will  pull  against  you  the  load  down- 
wards. We  shall  constitute  one-third  and  more  of  the  igno- 
rance and  crime  of  the  South,  or  one-third  its  intelligence  and 
progress ;  we  shall  contribute  one-third  to  the  business  and 
industrial  prosperity  of  the  South,  or  we  shall  prove  a  veritable 
body  of  death,  stagnating,  depressing,  retarding  every  effort  to 
advance  the  body  politic, 

k'  Gentlemen  of  the  Exposition,  as  we  present  to  you  our 
humble  effort  at  an  exhibition  of  our  progress,  you  must  not 
expect  overmuch.  Starting  thirty  years  ago  with  ownership 
here  and  there  in  a  few  quilts  and  pumpkins  and  chickens 
(gathered  from  miscellaneous  sources),  remember  the  path 
that  has  led  from  these  to  the  invention  and  production  of 
agricultural  implements,  buggies,  steam  engines,  newspapers, 
books,  statuary,  carving,  paintings,  the  management  of  drug 
stores  and  banks,  has  not  been  trodden  without  contact  with 
thorns  and  thistles.  While  we  take  pride  in  what  we  exhibit 
as  a  result  of  our  independent  efforts,  we  do  not  for  a  moment 
forget  that  our  part  in  this  exhibition  would  fall  far  short  of 
your  expectations  but  for  the  constant  help  that  has  come  to 
our  educational  life,  not  only  from  the  Southern  States,  but 
especially  from  Northern  philanthropists,  who  have  made  their 
gifts  a  constant  stream  of  blessing  and  encouragement. 

"  The  wisest  of  my  race  understand  that  the  agitation  of 
questions  of  social  equality  is  the  extremest  folly,  and  that 
progress  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  privileges  that  will  come  to  us 
must  be  the  result  of  severe  and  constant  struggle  rather  than 
of  artificial  forcing.  No  race  that  has  anything  to  contribute 
to  the  markets  of  the  world  is  long,  in  any  degree,  ostracized. 
It  is  important  and  right  that  all  privileges  of  the  law  be  ours, 
but  it  is  vastly  more  important  that  we  be  prepared  for  the 
exercise  of  those  privileges.  The  opportunity  to  earn  a  dollar 
in  a  factory  just  now  is  worth  infinitely  more  than  the  oppor- 
tunity to  spend  a  dollar  in  an  opera  house. 

"  In  conclusion,  may  I  repeat  that  nothing  in  thirty  years 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  195 


has  given  us  more  hope  and  encouragement  and  drawn  us  so 
near  to  you  of  the  white  race,  as  this  opportunity  offered  by  the 
Exposition;  and  here,  bending,  as  it  were,  over  the  altar  that 
represents  the  results  of  the  struggle  of  your  race  and  mine, 
both  starting  practically  empty-handed  three  decades  ago,  I 
pledge  that,  in  your  effort  to  work  out  the  great  and  intricate 
problem  which  God  has  laid  at  the  doors  of  the  South,  you 
shall  have  at  all  times  the  patient,  sympathetic  help  of  my  race. 
Only  let  this  be  constantly  in  mind  that,  while  from  the  repre- 
sentations in  these  buildings  of  the  product  of  field,  of  forest, 
of  mine,  of  factory,  letters,  and  art,  much  good  will  come,  yet 
far  above  and  beyond  material  benefits  will  be  that  higher  good, 
that  let  us  pray  God  will  come  in  a  blotting  out  of  sectional 
differences  and  racial  animosities  and  suspicions  in  a  determi- 
nation to  administer  absolute  justice,  in  a  willing  obedience 
among  all  classes  to  the  mandates  of  the  law.  This,  coupled 
with  our  material  prosperity,  will  bring  into  our  beloved  South 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth." 


196 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


THE  RADICALS. 

Dr.  William  E.  B.  Dubois  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1868.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  State,  at  Fisk  University,  Harvard  University,  and  the 
University  of  Berlin.  Dr.  Dubois  is  widely  known  as  a  scholar 
in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term — sociologist,  teacher,  poet, 


DR.  W.  E.  BURGHARDT  DUBOIS. 

author,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  greatest  writers  on  Negro 
questions. 

In  the  world  of  letters  he  has  received  many  honors  and 
counts  among  his  personal  friends  some  of  the  most  scholarly 
and  cultured  personages  of  the  world.  Harvard  University 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  and 
in  the  great  Universal  Races  Congress,  which  convened  in 
London,  July,  1911,  Dr.  Dubois  so  ably  presented  the  case  of 
the  American  Negro  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  thinkers 
everywhere. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  197 


MANIFESTO    OF    THE    NIAGARA    MOVEMENT. 

The  Radical  point  of  view  may,  perhaps,  be  best  explained 
by  the  address  to  the  country  at  large  adopted  at  the  first  con- 
ference of  the  Niagara  movement.  It  reads  as  follows :  "  The 
members  of  the  conferenc  known  as  the  Niagara  movement 
assembled  in  annual  meeting  at  Buffalo,  July  11,  12  and  13, 
1905,  congratulate  the  Negro- Americans  on  certain  undoubted 
evidences  of  progress  in  the  last  decade,  particularly  the 
increase  of  intelligence,  the  buying  of  property,  the  checking 
of  crime,  the  uplift  in  home  life,  the  advance  in  literature  and 
art,  and  the  demonstration  of  constructive  and  exhaustive 
ability  in  the  conduct  of  great  religious,  economic  and  educa- 
tional institutions. 

"At  the  same  time  we  believe  that  this  class  of  American 
citizens  should  protest  emphatically  and  continually  against  the 
curtailment  of  their  political  rights.  We  believe  in  manhood 
suffrage ;  we  believe  that  no  man  is  so  good,  intelligent  or 
wealthy  as  to  be  entrusted  wholly  with  the  welfare  of  his 
neighbor.  We  believe  also  in  protest  against  the  curtailment 
of  our  civil  rights.  All  American  citizens  have  the  right  to 
equal  treatment  in  places  of  public  entertainment  according  to 
their  behavior  and  deserts.  We  especially  complain  against  the 
denial  of  equal  opportunities  to  us  in  economic  life ;  in  the  rural 
districts  of  the  South  this  amounts  to  peonage  and  virtual 
slavery;  all  over  the  South  it  tends  to  crush  labor  and  small 
business  enterprises,  and  everywhere  American  prejudice, 
helped  often  by  iniquitous  laws,  is  making  it  more  difficult  for 
Negro-Americans  to  earn  a  decent  living. 

"'Common  school  education  should  be  free  to  all  American 
children  and  compulsory.  High  school  training  should  be 
adequately  provided  for  all  and  college  training  should  be  the 
monopoly  of  no  class  or  race  in  any  section  of  our  common 
country.  We  believe  that  in  defence  of  its  own  institutions, 
the  United  States  should  aid  common  school  education,  par- 
ticularly in  the  South,  and  we  especially  recommend  concerted 


193  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


agitation  to  this  end.  We  urge  an  increase  in  public  high 
school  facilities  in  the  South,  where  the  Negro-Americans  are 
almost  wholly  without  such  provisions.  We  favor  well- 
equipped  trade  and  technical  schools  for  the  training  of  ar- 
tisans, and  the  need  of  adequate  and  liberal  endowment  of  a 
few  institutions  of  higher  education  must  be  patent  to  sincere 
well-wishers  of  the  race. 

We  demand  upright  judges  in  courts,  juries  selected  without 
discrimination  on  account  of  color,  and  the  same  measure  of 
punishment  and  the  same  efforts  at  reformation  for  black  as 
for  white  offenders.  We  need  orphanages  and  farm  schools 
for  dependent  children,  juvenile  reformatories  for  delinquents 
and  the  abolition  of  the  dehumanizing  convict-lease  system. 
We  note  with  alarm  the  evident  retrogression  in  this  land  of 
sound  public  opinion  on  the  subject  of  manhood  rights,  repub- 
lican government  and  human  brotherhood,  and  we  pray  God 
that  this  nation  will  not  degenerate  into  a  mob  of  boasters  and 
oppressors,  but  rather  will  return  to  the  faith  of  the  fathers ; 
that  all  men  were  created  equal  with  certain  inalienable  rights. 
We  plead  for  health,  for  an  opportunity  to  live  in  decent 
houses  and  localities,  for  a  chance  to  rear  our  children  in  phy- 
sical and  moral  cleanliness. 

We  hold  up  for  public  execration,  the  conduct  of  two  oppo- 
site classes  of  men :  The  practice  among  employers  of  import- 
ing ignorant  Negro-American  laborers  in  emergencies,  and 
then  affording  them  neither  protection  nor  permanent  employ- 
ment ;  and  the  practice  of  labor  unions  of  proscribing  and  boy- 
cotting and  oppressing  thousands  of  their  fellow  toilers,  simply 
because  they  are  black,  These  methods  have  accentuated  and 
will  accentuate  the  war  of  labor  and  capital,  and  they  are  dis- 
graceful to  both  sides. 

"We  refuse  to  allow  the  impression  that  the  Negro- American 
assents  to  inferiority,  is  submissive  under  oppression  and  apol- 
ogetic before  insults.  Through  helplessness  we  may  sub  nit, 
but  the  voice  of  protest  of  ten  million  Americans  must  never 
cease  to  assail  the  ears  of  their  fellows,  so  long  as  America  is 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  199 


unjust.  Any  discrimination  based  simply  on  race  or  color  is 
barbarous,  we  care  not  how  hallowed  it  be  by  custom,  ex- 
pediency or  prejudice.  Differences  made  on  account  of  ig- 
norance, immorality,  poverty  or  disease  may  be  legitimate 
methods  of  reform  and  against  them  we  have  no  word  of  pro- 
test ;  but  discriminations  based  simply  and  solely  on  physical 
peculiarities,  place  of  birth,  color  of  skin,  are  relics  of  that 
unreasoning  human  savagery  of  which  the  world  is  and  ought 
to  be  thoroughly  ashamed.  We  protest  against  the  Jim  Crow 
car,  since  its.  effect  is  and  must  be  to  make  us  pay  first-class 
fare  for  third-class  accommodations,  render  us  open  to  in- 
sults and  discomfort  and  to  crucify  wantonly  our  manhood, 
womanhood  and  self-respect." 

"We  regret  that  this  nation  has  never  seen  fit  adequately 
to  reward  the  black  soldiers  who  in  its  five  wars  have  defended 
their  country  with  their  blood  and  yet  have  been  systematic- 
ally denied  the  promotions  which  their  abilities  deserve.  And 
we  regard  as  unjust  the  exclusion  of  black  boys  from  the  mil- 
itary and  naval  training  schools. 

"We  urge  upon  Congress  the  enactment  of  appropriate  leg- 
i>lation  for  securing  the  proper  enforcement  of  those  articles 
of  freedom,  the  13th,  14th  and  loth  amendments  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States.  We  repudiate  the  monstrous 
doctrine  that  the  oppressor  shall  be  the  sole  authority  as  to  the 
rights  of  the  oppressed. 

"The  Negro  race  in  America,  stolen,  ravished  and  degraded. 
struggling  up  through  difficulties  and  oppression,  needs  sym- 
pathy and  receives  criticism  ;  needs  help  and  is  given  hind- 
rance ;  needs  protection  and  is  given  mob  violence ;  needs  jus- 
tice and  is  given  charity ;  needs  leadership  and  is  given  cow- 
ardice and  apology ;  needs  bread  and  is  given  a  stone.  This 
nation  will  never  stand  justified  before  God  until  these  things 
are  changed.  Especially  are  we  surprised  and  astonished  at 
the  recent  attitude  of  the  Church  of  Christ — on  the  increase 
of  a  desire  to  bow  to  racial  prejudice,  to  narrow  the  bounds 
.of  human  brotherhood,  and  to  segregate  black  men  in  some 


20o  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


outer  sanctuary.  This  is  wrong,  un-Christian  and  disgrace- 
ful to  the  twentieth  century  civilization. 

•'Of  the  above  grievances  we  do  not  hesitate  to  complain,  and 
to  complain  loudly  and  insistently.  To  ignore,  overlook  or 
apologize  for  these  wrongs  is.  to  prove  ourselves  unworthy  of 
freedom.  Persistent,  manly  agitation  is  the  way  to  liberty, 
and  toward  this  goal  the  Niagara  movement  has  started  and 
asks  the  co-operation  of  all  men  of  all  races.  At  the  same 
time  we  want  to  acknowledge  with  deep  thankfulness  the  help 
of' our  fellow  men  from  the  Abolitionist  down  to  those  who 
today-  stand  for  equal  opportunity  and  who  have  given  and 
still  give  of  their  wealth  and  of  their  poverty  for  our  advance- 
ment. 

"And  while  we  arc  demanding,  and  ought  to  demand  and 
will  continue  to  demand,  the  rights  enumerated  above,  God 
forbid  that  we  should  ever  forget  to  urge  corresponding  duties 
upon-  our  people : 

"The  duty  to  vote. 

"'The  duty  to  respect  the  rights  of  others. 

"The  duty  to  work. 

"The  duty  to  obey  the  laws. 

"The"  duty  to  be  clean  and  orderly. 

"The  duty  to  send  our  children  to  school. 

"The  duty  to  respect  ourselves,  even  as  we  respect  others. 

"This  statement;  complaint  and  prayer  we  submit  to  the 
American  people,  and  to  Almighty  God. 

"(Signed  by)  W.  E.  B.  Dubois,  Georgia. 

Win.  11.  Richards,  District  of  Columbia. 

B.  S.  Smith,  Kansas. 

Wm.  Monroe  Trotter,  Massachusetts. 

Wm,  H.  II.  Hart,  District  of  Columbia. 
"Representing  delegates  from   fourteen  states;  assented  to 
by  members  in  twenty-four  states." 

Listening,  as  one  often  does,  to  a  discussion  between  ardent 
supporters  of  the  Conservative    and    the    Radical  schools  of 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  201 


thought,  one  is  reminded  of  the  story  of  the  encounter  be- 
tween two  knights  of  olden  times. 

These  knights,  approaching  each  other  from  opposite  direc- 
tions, when  within  speaking  distance,  observed  suspended  over 
the  road,  a  beautiul  shield.  Said  Knight  Number  One,  "I 
pray  thee,  friend,  what  is  the  meaning  of  yonder  golden 
shield?"  Knight  Number  Two  replied,  "Its  meaning  I  know 
not,  but  I  do  know  that  it  is  a  silver  and  not  a  golden  shield." 
Whereupon,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  they  challenged 
each  other  to  combat  to  decide  which  of  them  was  right. 

After  a  long  struggle,  having  unwittingly  exchanged  posi- 
tions, they  glanced  upward  at  the  shield  and  found  that  each 
was  right,  for  while  on  one  side  the  shield  was  silver,  it  was 
golden  on  the  other. 

So  when  they  realized  that  "each  was  partly  in  the  right  and 
each  was  partly  wrong,"  they  took  down  the  shield,  claiming  it 
as  their  common  property  and  clasping  hands  across  it,  they 
swore  eternal  fealty.  Seeking  the  main  road,  the  two  knights 
journeyed  together,  loyal  comrades  and  the  shield  was  their 
defense  against  all  enemies. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  LIGHT  DIFFUSED. 


LOOKING  backward  nearly  two  hundred  years,  we  come 
to  the  time  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin  Banneker,  who  be- 
came a  scientific  farmer,  mathematician,  astronomer, 
surveyor,  writer ;  coming  nearer  we  find  Phillis  Wheatley,  stu- 
dent and  literary  genius,  and  as  we  approach  our  own  time  we 
are  happy  to  see  that  the  lights  of  intelligence,  industry  and 
culture  which  they  held  aloft  have  multiplied  in  number  and 
increased  in  brightness  and  that,  today,  there  is  no  sign  of 
waning.  There  is  scarcely  a  field  of  human  endeavor  into 
which  Negroes  have  not  entered  with  (all  things  considered) 
astonishing  success.  Besides  the  men  and  women  already 
mentioned  in  this  book,  there  are  thousands  who  have  made 
the  most  of  their  abilities  and  opportunities,  some  of  whom 
are  known  to  their  respective  communities  only,  while  others 
have  attained  a  national  reputation.  It  will  be  readily  under- 
stood that  in  so  small  a  volume  as  this  only  a  passing  refer- 
ence can  be  made  to  a  few  persons. 

During  the  "Electric  Age,"  the  following  women,  among 
many  others,  have  come  into  prominence :  Miss  Lucy  Laney, 
founder   of  Haines  IS.  and  I.  Institute  ;    Miss  Jennie  Pean, 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  203 


founder  of  Manassas  Industrial  School ;  Mrs.  Dinah  Watts 
Pace,  founder  of  a  Home  for  Homeless  and  Friendless  Chil- 
dren at  Covington,  Ga. ;  Mrs.  Amanda  Smith,  founder  and 
manager  of  an  Orphan  Home  at  Chicago ;  Miss  Amanda  R. 
Bowen,  founded  and  for  many  years  supported  the  Sojourner 
Truth  Home  for  Working  Girls  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Home  for  Friendless  Girls  was  founded  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  hy  a  number  of  colored  women  of  whom  Mrs. 
Caroline  Taylor  was  the  leading  spirit  and  president  of  the 
association.  Mrs.  Taylor  literally  gave  her  life  for  this  work, 
for  while  inspecting  the  premises,  she  met  with  an  accident 
which  was  almost  immediately  fatal.  Succeeding  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor, her  daughter,  Mrs.  John  Pierre,  was  for  several  years 
president  of  the  association  and  maintained  the  work  through 
many  vicissitudes.  Mrs.  Pierre  was  succeeded  in  1909  by 
Mrs.  Rosetta  E.  Lawson. 

Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Carter,  president  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Colored  Women  was  the  moving  spirit  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Home  for  the  Aged  in  New  Bedford,  Mass. 
Through  Miss  Carter's  untiring  endeavors,  this  institution  has 
become  one  of  the  most  flourishing  of  its  kind  in  the  country. 

Miss  Nannie  Borroughs,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  is  the  found- 
er and  president  of  the  National  Training  School  for  Women 
and  Girls  located  at  Lincoln  Heights,  D.  C.  This  school  is 
filling  a  long-felt  need. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Murrav  Washington,  of  Tuskegee,  has  for 
years  been  an  inspiration  and  incentive  to  the  women  of  her 
community  and  of  the  whole  state.  These  women  founded  a 
Reformatory  for  Boys  and  supported  it  for  several  years.  It 
was  formally  turned  over  to  the  state  authorities  a  short  while 
ago,  and  the  women  are  planning  other  activities. 

Besides  her  work  in  women's  clubs,  Mrs.  Mary  Church  Ter- 
rell is  known  as  an  accomplished  linguist  and  is  in  great  de- 
mand as  a  lecturer. 

Mrs.  Eliza  E.  Peterson,  National  Superintendent  of  work 


2o4  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


among  colored  people  for  the  National  Women's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  is  widely  known  as  a  consecrated  and 
tireless  worker  and  a  magnetic  speaker  upon  temperance  and 
kindred  subjects.  Mrs.  Rosetta  E.  Lawson  is  a  National  Or- 
ganizer in  the  W.  C.  T.  U. 

Miss  Cordelia  Ray  is  said  to  be  the  first  colored  woman  to 
receive  a  diploma  as  graduate  in  law.  She  is  also  the  author 
of  a  volume  of  poems. 

Mrs.  Carrie  W.  Clifford  is  a  well-known  elocutionist  and  club 
woman,  and  has  written  a  book  of  poems.  Mrs.  Fannie  Bar- 
rier Williams,  of  Chicago,  is  a  noted  club  worker,  writer  and 
lecturer.  Mrs.  Harriet  Gibbs  Marshall  is  the  founder  and 
president  of  the  Washington  Conservatory  of  Music  and  of 
the  National  Association  of  Musical  and  Art  Clubs.  Mrs. 
Anna  J.  Cooper  is  a  well-known  author  and  educator.  Mrs. 
Carrie  Wilder  Harris  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
of  the  District  of  Columbia.  Mrs.  Addie  W.  Hunton,  Mrs. 
Emma  Ransome,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ross  Haines  and  Miss  Ce- 
celia Holloway  are  prominently  identified  with  the  National 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association. 

Miss  Hallie  Q.  Brown  has  lectured  extensively  in  Europe 
and  America.  Mrs.  Ida  Wells  Barnett  toured  England  and 
America  a  few  years  ago  and  aroused  sentiment  against  the 
lynching  evil.  Mrs.  Sarah  Collins  Fernandis,  first  head  resi- 
dent at  Washington  Social  Settlement  and  also  at  Neighbor- 
hood Cottage,  East  Greenwich,  R.  I.,  is  the  pioneer  trained 
settlement  worker  of  the  race.  Mrs.  Maggie  L.  Walker  is 
President  of  the  St.  Luke  Fenny  Savings  Bank  and  of  the  St. 
Luke  Emporium,  Richmond,  Va. 

As  school  teachers  and  trained  nurses  colored  women  have 
been  notably  successful. 

Col.  George  W.  Williams,  the  great  Negro  historian,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  October  16,  1849,  and  was  educated  in 
private  and  public  schools.  He  entered  the  Union  Army  and 
served  with  distinction  throughout  the  Civil  War.  After  the 
war  he  took  a  course  in  West  Newton  Theological  Seminary, 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  ^05 


Mass.,  and  later  became  the  editor  of  the  Southwestern  Re- 
view. He  was  at  one  time  judge  advocate  of  the  Ohio  G.  A. 
R.  His  History  of  the  Negro,  in  two  volumes,  was  published 
in  1883,  and  is  the  great  authority  upon  the  subject.  Colonel 
Williams  was  the  first  colored  man  ever  elected  to  the  Ohio 
Legislature. 

Charles  W.  Chestnut  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1858.  He  was 
reared  in  North  Carolina,  and  while  yet  a  youth  began  to  teach 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  latter  state.  Later  he  became  prin- 
cipal of  the  State  Colored  Normal  School  at  Fayetteville.  Mr. 
Chestnut  left  the  South  in  188.3  and  went  to  Niw  York  and 
later  to  Ohio.  He  contributed  to  newspapers  and  magazines, 
served  as  stenographer  and  practiced  law.  As  a  novelist  he  is 
well  known.  Some  of  his  most  successful  works  are  the  "Con- 
jure Woman,"  "The  Wife  of  His  Youth,"  "The  House  Be- 
hind the  Cedars."  "The  Marrow  of  Tradition." 

Paul  Lawrence  Dunbar,  aptly  called  "the  Burns  of  til* 
Negro  race,"  has  embalmed  in  poetry  and  prose  much  of  the 
pathos,  the  wit,  the  latent  music  and  the  hitherto  unexpressed 
longings  of  the  Negro  for  the  highest  things.  Dunbar  was  born 
in  Ohio  in  1872  and  though  at  the  title  of  his  death  he  was 
still  a  young  man,  he  left  an  indelible  mark  upon  American 
literature. 

William  Stanley  Braithwaite,  the  greatest  living  Negro 
poet,  was  born  in  Boston  in  1878.  When  twelve  years  of  age, 
he  left  school  and  began  to  learn  the  printer's  trade.  Com- 
pelled by  ill  health  to  change  his  occupation,  he  supported 
himself  by  one  employment  and  another,  still  studying  as  best 
he  could,  until  at  the  age  of  twenty  he  began  to  write.  In 
1904  he  published  his  first  book,  "Lyrics  of  Life  and  Love." 
So  far,  the  Survey  of  English  Poetry  from  1557  to  1910  is 
considered  Mr.  Braithwaite's  greatest  work. 

Dr.  William  A.  Sinclair,  Mr.  George  W.  Forbes,  J.  T.  Wil- 
son, W.  H.  Thompson,  Misses  Pauline  Hopkins.  Angelina 
Grimke,  Jesse  Fauset,  E.  F.  G.  Merritt,  Messers  Barnet  N. 


206  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE   NEGRO 


Dodson,  L.  M.  Hershaw,  Oliver  Randolph.  F.  H.  M.  Murray, 
are  well  known  writers.  Alaine  Lerov  Locke,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  the  first  colored  student  to  receive  a  Rhodes  schol- 
arship. He  studied  at  Oxford  during.  1007-10,  and  is  now  at 
the  University  of  Berlin. 

Among  the  pioneer  newspaper  men  is  T.  Thomas  Fortune,  a 
native  of  Florida.  Going  to  New  York  he  established  in  1881 
the  New  York  Globe  which  later  became  the  New  York  Age. 
This  paper  he  edited  for  a  number  of  years.  The  Age  is 
now  published  by  Fred  R.  Moore.  The  elevated  tone  of  the 
paper,  its  literary  style,  abundant  information  and  mechanical 
excellence  has  for  many  years  placed  it  among  the  leading  col- 
ored publications.     Mr.  Fortune  has  published  several  books. 

The  Washington  Bee,  W.  Calvin  Chase,  editor  and  owner, 
was  first  published  in  1882,  and  has  been  continuously  issued. 
It  is  one  of  the  colored  publications  issued  from  its  own 
premises. 

John  Mitchell  of  the  Richmond  Planet  (1883)  is  an  aggres- 
sive editor  and  has  done  much  to  expose  the  lynching  evil. 

William  Monroe  Trotter  is  the  editor  of  the  Boston  Guard- 
ian, a  paper  widely  known  for  its  radical  stand  for  manhood 
rights  for  the  Negro. 

Edward  E.  Cooper,  founder  of  the  Indianapolis  Freeman 
and  later  of  the  Colored  American  of  Washington,  D.  C,  was 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  newspaper  publishers.  The 
Afro-American  of  Baltimore  is  one  of  the  best  known  papers 
in  the  country.  It  is  edited  by  John  H.  Murphy  who  has  for 
many  years  taken  an  active  part  in  the  civil,  fraternal  and  busi- 
ness life  of  Baltimore. 

Mr.  Chris.  Perry,  editor  of  the  Philadelphia  Tribune  (1895) 
is  well  known  as  an  able  newspaper  man.  Other  veteran 
writers  are  John  Wesley  Cromwell,  who  founded  the  People's 
Advocate  in  1876 ;  Charles  Alexander  of  Boston,  John  E. 
Bruce,  president  of  the  Negro  Society  for  Historical  Research. 
John  C.  Dancy  was  for  many  years  editor  of  the  Star  of  Zion 
and  subsequently  Recorder  of  Deeds  for  District  of  Columbia. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  807 


Prominent  among  church  papers  are  the  Christian  Recorder, 
the  Southwesern  Christian  Advocate,  Star  of  Zion,  American 
Baptist,  A.  M.  E.  Church  Review,  Voice  of  Missions,  Presby- 
terian Herald. 

Dr.  Daniel  H.  Williams,  now  of  Chicago,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1858.  He  stands  among  the  great  surgeons 
of  our  country.  "He  came  into  prominence  when  a  very  young 
man  by  performing  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  surgical  opera- 
tions on  the  heart  and  poricardium,  thereby  saving  the  life  of 
a  man  who  had  been  stabbed  in  the  heart."  In  1804  Dr.  Wil- 
liams was  appointed  surgeon-in-chief  of  Freedman's  Hospital, 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  remained  in  that  position  for  several 
years. 

Dr.  Williams  was  succeeded  at  Freedman's  by  Dr.  A.  M. 
Curtis,  who  has  a  wide  reputation  as  a  successful  physician 
and  surgeon.  Dr.  R.  F.  Boyd,  of  Nashville,  is  an  authority  on 
chemistry,  gynecology  and  clinical  medicine.  Boyd's  Infirm- 
ary, with  two  large  surgical  wards,  two  operating  rooms  and 
twenty  rooms  has  been  recently  opened.  Dr.  W illiam  A.  War- 
field,  the  present  surgeon-in-chief  at  Freedman's  Hospital,  is 
considered  one  of  the  most  rapid  and  skillful  surgeons  in  the 
country  and  the  many  delicate  and  difficult  operations  per- 
formed by  him  testify  to  his  ability. 

Among  other  successful  physicians  are  Drs.  Marcus  Wheat- 
land, Newport ;  Chas.  E.  Bentley  and  George  Hall  of  Chicago ; 
N.  F.  Mossell  of  Philadelphia ;  T.  E.  Bailey  and  W.  J.  Thomp- 
kins,  Kansas  City;  J.  A.  Wormley,  N.  T.  Cotton,  New  Jersey; 
Win.  F.  Penn,  Atlanta ;  L.  A.  Cornish,  Cincinnati ;  W.  L. 
Bulkley,  Johnson,  Henderson,  New  York ;  Drs.  J.  A.  Kenney, 
W.  S.  Lofton,  F.  G.  Elliot,  A.  T.  Robinson,  Amanda  Y.  Gray, 
Julia  P.  H.  Coleman,  C.  H.  Marshall,  G.  E.  Cannon,  C.  H. 
Shepard,  W.  E.  Sterrs,  W.  T.  Carr,  E.  A.  Carter,  J.  J.  France, 
R.  T.  Hamilton,  J.  W.  Ames,  W.  C.  Smalls.  H.  F.  Gamble,  H. 
H.  Phipps.  J.  A.  C.  Lattimore,  C.  S.  Wormley,  J.  H.  N.  War- 
ing, J  .C.  Dowling,  H.  W.  Ross,  W.  C.  McNeill",  J.  C.  Ander- 
son, John  Thompson,  S.  A.  Furniss,  J.  W.  Darden,  J.  W.  Mc- 


*oS  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


Dowell,  H.  G.  McKerrow,  J.  D.  Nelson,  C.  L.  Carter,  G.  N. 
Stoney,  E.  P.  Roberts,  F.  S.  Hargrave,  J.  C.  Norwood,  A. 
Ridgley,  J.  C.  Norwood,  M.  O.  Dumas,  C.  A.  Tignor,  A.  S. 
Gray,  E.  U.  Boyle,  S.  F.  L.  Carson,  G.  W.  Davis,  C.  A. 
Brooks,  Moses  Amos,  W.  C.  Gordon,  John  R.  Francis,  G.  W. 
Cabiness.  James  R.  Wilder,  John  \Y.  Mitchell,  S.  S.  Thomp- 
son. P.  W.  Price,  C.  VV.  Childs,  E.  D.  Williston,  C.  I.  West, 
and  a  large  number  of  dentists  and  pharmacists.  Drs.  Court- 
ney, Garland,  Stewart,  Comfort,  Boston. 

Henry  Ossawa  Tanner  is  rated  among  the  foremost  living 
artists  of  the  world.  Mr.  Tanner  is  a  son  of  Bishop  B.  T. 
Tanner  of  the  A.M..  E.  Church,  and  was  born  in  Pittsburg  in 
1859.  He  finished  the  public  school  course,  and  having  long 
felt  a  desire  to  study  art.  he  entered  the  Pennsylvania  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  Arts.  Going  to  Paris,  he  studied  under  Jean 
Paul  Laurens  and  Benjamin  Constant.  Mr.  Tanner  has  re- 
ceived several  prizes  and  medals  for  excellent  work  and  some 
of  his  paintings  hang  in  the  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  the  Carnegie  Institute,  the  Wilstach  Collection  and  in 
the  Luxonbourg,  Paris.  Two  of  his  paintings,  "The  Return 
of  the  Holy  Women"  and  "The  Three  Marys"  were,  in  1911, 
part  of  a  special  exhibit  in  the  Corcoran  Art  Galley  at  Wash- 
ington. 

In  1876,  "at  the  Philadelphia  Centennial,  a  first  prize  was 
■awarded  to  a  beautiful  landscape  painting  called  "The  Oaks," 
and  labeled  Bannister.  The  judges  announced  the  prize,  but 
were  amazed  when  a  modest  looking  Negro  stepped  up  in  an- 
swer to  the  name  of  Bannister  and  took  both  prize  and  picture. 
From  that  time  till  his  death,  some  years  ago.  Edmond  M. 
Bannister  of  Boston  was  recognized  as  an  artist  of  much 
talent.  He  devoted  all  of  his  time  to  his  chosen  profession, 
painting  many  pictures  which  are  owned  by  Boston  and  Prov- 
idence private  collections,  and  when  he  died,  his  brother 
artists  of  Providence  erected  over  his  grave  a  beautiful  monu- 
ment in  token  pf  their  high  esteem." 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  2*9 


Of  Edmonia  Lewis,  the  sculptor,  it  is  said  that  though  "of 
lowly  birth,  left  an  orphan  when  quite  young,  unable  to  ob- 
tain a  liberal  education,  she  nevertheless  determined  to  be 
somebody  and  do  something."  When  quite  a  young  woman 
she  went  to  Boston  and  there,  through  the  kindness  of  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  she  was  enabled  to  receive  lessons  in  model- 
ing from  Mr.  Brackett,  the  sculptor.  An  excellent  bust  of 
Robert  Gould  Shaw,  finished  in  1865,  was  her  first  piece  of 
importance.  Miss  Lewis  finally  obtained  the  desire  of  her 
heart — to  study  in  Rome — and  her  work  there  attracted  much 
attention,  her  studio  becoming  one  of  the  show  places  of  the 
student's  quarter.  In  187(5,  she  brought  over  to  the  Centennial 
Exposition  several  well  executed  pieces.  "The  only  produc- 
tions of  her  later  years  now  in  America  are  contained  in  the 
four  portrait  busts  of  Longfellow,  Sumner,  John  Brown  and 
Lincoln  in  the  public  library  of  San  Jose,  Cal." 

The  most  noted  colored  musician  is  the  Anglo-African, 
Samuel  Coleridge  Taylor.  He  was  born  in  London  in  1875 
and  was  educated  in  that  city.  His  genius  showed  itself  early 
and  he  wrote  several  compositions.  When  in  his  twentieth 
year,  he  wrote  the  wonderful  Hiawatha  Triology,  a  setting  to 
music  of  portions  of  Longfellow's  poem.  He  has  also  devel- 
oped a  number  of  the  Negro  folk-songs  and  other  composi- 
tions of  acknowledged  merit.  "While  the  world  is  admiring 
Coloridge  Taylor,  the  composer,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
he  is  first  of  all  a  master  of  the  violin.  Like  George  Augus- 
tine P.  Bridgetower,  that  other  celebrated  colored  violinist  of 
London  (about  1800),  for  whom  Beethoven  wrote  the  "Krut- 
zer  Sonata,"  and  whose  matchless  rendering  of  it  in  a  Vienna 
concert  caused  the  ecstatic  German  to  leap  from  his  seat, 
throw  his  arms  around  Bridgetower,  and  shout,  "Once  more, 
my  dear  fellow,  once  more."  Coleridge  Taylor  first  gained 
his  English  reputation  with  his  violin.  It  is  still  his  favorite 
instrument  when  not  composing." 

Walter  H.  Loving,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  organized  in  the 
Philippines   the    world    renowned    Constabulary    Band,    which 


Hq  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


tied  for  the  first  prize  at  the  World's  Fair  in  St.  Louis.  Cap- 
tain Loving  is  acknowledged  one  of  the  world's  greatest  band 
masters. 

Melville  Charleton,  organist,  and  R.  Augustus  Lawson, 
pianist ;  Joseph  G.  Douglass,  grandson  of  Frederick  Douglass, 
and  Clarence  Cameron  White,  Felix  Weir,  Leonard  Jeter, 
violinists ;  Harry  T.  Burleigh,  Sidney  Woodward,  John  T. 
Layton,  Sissisretta  Jones,  Abbie  Mitchell,  Harry  A.  Williams, 
Dr.  C.  Sumner  Wormley,  Charlotte  Wallace,  Ralph  W.  Amos, 
Marie  James,  Ernest  R.  Amos,  Nettie  Murray,  vocalists ;  Wal- 
ter Craig,  Charles  Hamilton,  orchestra  leaders;  W.  M.  Cook, 
J.  R.  Johnson,  Robert  Cole,  composers;  H.  L.  Grant,  Hamilton 
Hodges,  are  well  known  to  the  musical  world.  Isaac  Hatha- 
way, of  Washington,  is  a  rising  sculptor. 

The  Hon.  John  M.  Langston  was  born  a  slave  in  Virginia 
in  LS-^9,  but  in  his  early  youth  managed  to  acquire  the  founda- 
tion for  an  education.  Later  he  entered  Oberlin  College  and 
graduated  with  honor.  He  was  a  successful  lawyer  and  "as 
college  president,  foreign  minister,  orator  and  politician,  he 
exercised  a  wide  influence  for  the  good  of  his  race.  He  was 
one  of  the  bravest  of  the  brave  in  public  matters  and  his  in- 
fluence upon  young  colored  men  was  widespread  and  ad- 
mirable." 

Hon.  John  P.  Green  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  but  when 
he  was  a  lad  his  father  having  died  his  mother  made  a  home 
in  Cleveland.  After  a  short  time  spent  in  the  public  schools, 
followed  by  a  period  in  which  he  worked  to  assist  his  mother 
and  studied  in  spare  time,  young  Green  wrote  and  published 
a  pamphlet  of  essays  and  sold  about  fifteen  hundred  of  them. 
He  entered  the  high  school  and  completed  the  course  in  nearly 
one-half  the  required  time,  graduating  at  the  head  of  his  class. 
He  studied  law  in  a  private  office  and  at  the  Cleveland  Law 
School  of  which  he  is  a  graduate.  Mr.  Green  has  received 
many  public  honors,  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace,  member 
of  the  ( )hio  Legislature,  and  was  appointed  L'nited  States 
Stamp  Agent  by  President  McKinley. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  211 


Hon.  W.  H.  Clifford  has  also  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Ohio  Legislature. 

Hon.  T.  McCants  Stewart,  a  well-known  colored  American 
lawyer,  practiced  in  this  country  several  years  and  was  sub- 
sequently a  member  of  the  bar  of  Honolulu,  Hawaii.  He  is 
now  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  Liberia.  His  son,  T. 
McCants  Stewart,  Jr.,  is  also  a  lawyer  and  was  the  first  col- 
ored person  to  graduate  from  the  University  of  Minnesota. 

Hon.  James  Carol  Napier  of  Nashville,  graduated  from  the 
law  department  of  Howard  University.  Upon  his  return  to 
Nashville,  he  not  only  practiced  his  profession,  but  actively 
entered  into  the  business,  civil  and  political,  life  of  the  com- 
munity, and  has  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  Mr. 
Napier  succeeded  Mr.  Vernon  as  Register  of  the  Treasury  in 
1911. 

Judge  Robert  H.  Terrell  is  a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  an 
able  lawyer.  He  holds,  by  Presidential  appointment,  the  posi- 
tion of  judge  in  the  Municipal  Court  of  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia. 

Hon.  Richard  T.  Greener  graduated  from  Harvard  College 
with  high  honors  in  1870.  As  teacher,  lawyer,  orator,  editor 
and  statesman,  Mr.  Greener  has  made  his  mark  upon  his  day 
and  generation.  He  was  lately  U.  S.  Consul  to  Vladivostok. 
Russia. 

James  A.  Cobb  is  a  well-known  lawyer  and  by  Presidential 
appointment  is  Assistant  U.  S.  District  Attorney  for  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.  Judge  Miflin  W.  Gibbs  is  a  veteran  lawyer 
of  Arkansas  and  was  at  one  time  U.  S.  Consul  to  Tamatave, 
Madagascar. 

In  the  several  states  there  have  been  and  are  many  success- 
ful lawyers,  among  whom  are  J.  Madison  Vance  of  New  Or- 
leans; B.  F.  Booth  and  J.  T.  Little  of  Memphis.  Tenn. ;  D. 
Augustus  Straker  of  Detroit ;  H.  G.  Parker,  Lloyd  G.  Wheeler. 
Ferdinand  L.  Barnett,  S.  Laing  Williams,  Edward  H.  Mor- 


212  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


ris  of  Chicago ;  S.  A.  Jones,  Little  Rock ;  S.  A.  McElwce,  Al- 
fred Menefee,  Nashville;  W.  H.  H.  Hart,  W.  H.  Richards, 
Royal  A.  Hughes,  Fountain  Peyton,  E.  M.  Hewlett,  Wm.  L. 
Pollard,  W.  C.  Chase,  L.  M.  King,  A.  W.  Scott,  R.  L.  War- 
ing, Washington,  D.  C. ;  B.  S.  Smith,  Wm.  R.  Morris,  Min- 
neapolis; P.  J.  Randall,  Oakland,  Cal. ;  H.  F.  Bowles,  Natchez; 
J.  E.  Burgee,  Chattanooga ;  ().  F.  Garrett,  Grenville,  Miss. ; 
Geo.  W.  Mitchell,  Philadelphia;  Rufus  L.  Perry,  Brooklyn; 
L.  H.  Codman,  Columhus,  Ohio ;  Cornelius  McDougal,  E.  A. 
Johnson,  J.  L.  Curtis,  New  York;  J.  L.  Mitchell,  Providence; 
Clement  Morgan,  Butler  Wilson,  Boston ;  I.  H.  Nutter,  mem- 
ber city  council,  Atlantic  City  ;  F.  L.  McGee,  St.  Paul ;  T.  J. 
Calloway,  was  in  charge  of  the  Negro  exhibits  at  the  Paris 
Exposition  of  1900  and  at  the  Jamestown  Exposition ;  of  the 
latter,  Mr.  A.  F.  Hilyer  was  assistant. 

Prof.  W.  S.  Scarborough,  president  of  Wilberforce  Uni- 
versity, is  the  author  of  Greek  and  Latin  text-books ;  Prof. 
Kelly  Miller,  a  noted  writer  on  Negro  questions,  is  dean  of 
the  College  Department,  Howard  University;  Prof.  W.  H. 
Crogman,  of  Clark  University,  is  a  well-known  linguist,  writer 
and  educator ;  Prof.  Geo.  W.  Cook,  secretary  of  Howard  Uni- 
versity, was  for  many  years  dean  of  the  Commercial  Depart- 
ment; Prof.  J.  C.  Price,  was  a  renowned  orator,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  was  president  of  Livingston  College ;  Dr.  L. 
B.  Moore  is  dean  of  the  Teacher's  College,  Howard  Uni- 
versity. 

Prof.  W.  H.  Councill  founded  and  for  many  years  was  pres- 
ident of  Normal  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College ;  he  also 
founded  and  was  editor  of  the  Huntsville  (Ala.)  Herald. 
Prof.  R.  C.  Bruce,  son  of  the  late  Senator  Bruce,  is  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  College  and  is  a  gifted  orator.  He  is  Assistant 
Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
Prof.  Richard  Robert  Wright  helped  to  organize  the  Georgia 
State  Industrial  College  and  became  its  president ;  his  son,  R. 
R.  Wright,  Jr.,  is  an  authority  upon  sociological  questions 
and  is  managing  editor  of  the  A.   M.  E.  publication.     Prof. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  213 


E.  C.  Williams  is  principal  of  the  M  Street  High  School,  and 
Dr.  W.  B.  Evans  is  principal  of  the  Armstrong  Technical  High 
School,  Washington,  D.  C.  Prof.  W.  H.  Hotzclaw  is  prin- 
cipal of  Utica  N.  and  I.  Institute,  Mississippi.  Dr.  Lucy  E. 
Moten,  principal  of  Normal  School,  Washington,  D.  C.  Dr. 
W.  S.  Montgomery  and  John  C.  Nalle,  are  well  known  edu- 
cators. 

The  colored  members  of  Congress,  during  the  period  under 
consideration,  were  James  C.  O'Hara,  48th  and  49th  Con- 
gresses; John  M.  Langston,  Ya.,  51st  Congress;  Thos.  H. 
Miller  and  H.  P.  Cheatam,  52nd  and  53rd  Congresses ;  George 
W.  Murray,  53rd  and  54th  Congresses ;  George  H.  White.  55th 
Congress.  In  the  Diplomatic  Service  at  present  are  William 
D.  Crum,  of  South  Carolina,  Minister  Resident  and  Consul- 
General  to  Liberia;  Richard  C.  Bundy,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of 
Legation,  Monrovia;  Henry  W.  Furniss,  of  Indiana,  Envoy 
Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Haiti.  Con- 
suls ;  L.  W.  Livingston,  Florida,  Consul  at  Cape  Haitien, 
Haiti ;  G.  W.  Jackson,  Connecticut,  Consul  at  Cognac,  France ; 
W.  H.  Hunt,  New  York,  Consul  at  St.  Etienne,  France;  H. 
R.  Wright,  Iowa,  Consul  at  Puerto  Cabelle,  Yenezuela ;  J.  W. 
Johnson,  New  York,  Consul  at  Corinte,  Nicarauga ;  W.  J. 
Yerby,  of  Tennessee,  Consul  at  Sierra  Leone,  West  Africa ; 
J.  G.  Carter,  Georgia,  Consul  at  Tamatave,  Madagascar;  C. 
H.  Payne,  West  Virginia,  Consul  at  St.  Thomas,  Danish  West 
Indies. 

Besides  Federal  office  holders  already  named  are  Chas.  A. 
Cottrell,  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Honolulu ;  W.  H.  Lewis,  As- 
sistant Attorney  General  of  the  United  States ;  Chas.  W.  An- 
derson, Collector  of  Internal  Revenue,  New  York ;  Ralph  W. 
Tyler,  Auditor  of  the  Navy ;  Whitfield  McKinley,  Collector  of 
Customs,  Georgetown,  D.  C. ;  H.  A.  Rucker,  Collector  of  In- 
ternal Revenue,  Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Jos.  E.  Lee,  Collector  of  In- 
ternal Revenue,  Jacksonville,  Fla. ;  Jas.  H.  Deveaux,  Collector 


214  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO 


of  Customs,  Savannah,  Ga. ;  J.  Lincoln  Johnson,  Recorder  of 
Deeds,  District  of  Columbia;  S.  Laing  Williams,  Assistant 
District  Attorney,  Chicago;  James  M.  Alexander,  Deputy 
Collector  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal. ;  ex-Gov.  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback, 
Internal  Revenue  Agent,  New  York ;  W.  T.  Vernon,  Super- 
visor of  Indian  and  Negro  Schools,  Oklahoma;  Cyrus  Field 
Adams,  Assistant  Register  of  the  Treasury ;  Nathan  Alex- 
ander, Register  of  Land  Office.  Montgomery,  Alabama. 

The  following  have  been  Registers  of  the  Treasury :  Hon. 
B.  K.  Bruce,  Judson  VV.  Lyons,  W.  T.  Vernon,  and  J.  C. 
Napier,  the  present  Register.  When  it  is  reme  nbered  that 
the  signature  of  the  occupant  of  this  position  turns  worthless 
paper  into  valuable  currency,  the  dignity  and  responsibility 
of  the  office  is  appreciated. 

Since  the  time  in  the  eighteenth  century  when  Prince  Hall 
presided  over  the  first  lodge  of  Negro  Masons,  that  fraternity 
has  steadily  increased  in  power  and  importance.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  there  are  one  hundred  thousand  colored  Free  Ma- 
sons in  this  country,  working  in  all  the  departments  of  the 
Order,  from  the  first  degree  through  the  thirty-third.  The 
President  of  the  International  Conference  of  Knights  Templar 
is  William  F.  Mayo,  of  Frankfort,  Ky.  The  Sovereign  Grand 
Commander  of  the  Scottish  Rite  ( 33  )  for  the  Northern  Juris- 
diction is  J.  Frank  Rickard,  of  Detroit,  and  the  Sovereign 
Grand  Commander  of  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  is  Robert 
L.  Pendleton,  of  Washington.  D.  C.  Prof.  Nelson  E.  Weath- 
erless  is  Grand  Master  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  Grand  United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  founded  by  Peter 
Ogden,  is  a  tremendous  organization,  with  lodges  in  every 
state  in  the  Union.  Hon.  Edward  H.  Morris,  of  Chicago,  is 
Grand  Master,  and  H.  Lincoln  Johnson  is  Deputy  Grand 
Master. 

The  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Order  of  Elks  each  have 
thousands  of  members.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion is  doing  a  great  work  under  the  supervision  of  the  fol- 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  215 


lowing  international  secretaries:  J.  E.  Moorland,  W.  A.  Hun- 
ton,  J.  B.  Watson,  D.  D.  Jones,  C.  H.  Tobias,  R.  P.  Hamlin. 

You  remember  that  Negroes  came  with  Columbus  when  he 
discovered  America ;  following  out  the  tradition,  a  Negro. 
Matthew  Henson,  accompanied  Peary,  when  in  J!")!),  he  dis- 
covered the  North  Pole.  The  assassin  of  President  McKiriley 
was  captured  by  J.  B.  Parker,  a  colored  man,  immediately 
after  the  shooting. 

There  are  several  colored  officers  in  the  United  States  army. 
Those  on  the  retired  list  are  Lieutenant-Colonel  Allen  Aliens- 
worth,  Major  John  R.  Lynch,  Major  Wm.  T.  Anderson,  Cap- 
tain Theophilus  G.  Steward ;  in  active  service  are  Captain 
Geo.  W.  Prioleau,  First  Lieutenant  Benjamin  Oliver  Davis, 
who  was  the  first  U.  S.  military  attache  at  Monrovia,  Liberia ; 
First  Lieutenant  John  E.  Green,  First  Lieutenant  W.  W.  E. 
Gladden,  First  Lieutenant  Oscar  J.  W.  Scott,  First  Lieutenant 
Louis  A.  Carter,  and  Captain  Charles  Young,  who  graduated 
from  West  Point  Military  Academy  in  1889,  and  who  will 
succeed  Lieut.  Davis  as  millitary  attache  in  Liberia.  Col.  Al- 
lensworth  has  founded  a  colony  in  California,  after  the  model 
of  Mound  Bayou,  and  bearing  the  founder's  name. 

The  bishops  of  the  several  branches  of  the  Methodist 
Church  have  ever  been  in  the  forefront  of  all  movements  for 
racial  uplift  and  each  has  had  his  share  in  race  development. 
Prominent  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  are  Bishops  Alexander 
Walters  and  Geo.  VV.  Clinton  ;  in  the  C.  M.  E.  Church  are 
Bishops  Holsey,  Cottrell,  Williams  and  Phillips;  in  the  A.  M. 
E.  Church,  Bishop  Daniel  Payne  was  aptly  called  "The  Apos- 
tle of  Education,"  for  throughout  his  whole  life  by  precept 
and  example,  he  taught  the  advantages  of  learning.  You  will 
remember  that  he  was  largely  instru  nental  in  buying  W'ilber- 
force  University  in  1863,  and  that  he  established  in  this  con- 
nection a  number  of  literary  societies.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  President  of  Payne  Theological  Seminary  at 
W'ilberforce.     Dr.    IT   W.   Arnett,   afterwards  bishop,   served 


si6  A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE   NEGRO 


two  years  in  the  Ohio  State  Legislature.  Bishop  J.  Alhert 
Johnson  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  is  carrying  on  a  notable  work 
in  South  Africa;  Bishop  Heard,  A.  M.  E.,  and  Bishop  A.  B. 

Scott  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  are  superintending  missions  in 
West  Africa. 

Rev.  Francis  J.  Grimke  has  been  for  many  years  the  pastor 
of  the  Fifteenth  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Washington,  and 
is  well-known  as  an  example  of  Christian  culture  and  scholarly 
attainment.  Dr.  J.  W.  E-  Bowen.  a  prominent  member  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  faculties  of 
Central  Tennessee  College  and  of  Ga  union  Theological  Sem- 
inary, Atlanta,  is  a  writer  upon  race  and  church  questions 
and  an  authority  upon  the  Semitic  languages. 

Among  other  prominent  ministers  are  Revs.  E.  L.  Hender- 
son, Jas.  C.  Russell,  George  A.  McGuire,  Hutchins  Bishop.  W. 
V.  Tunnell,  T.  J.  Brown,  John  Johnson,  O.  A.  Mitchell,  G. 
F.  Bragg,  F.  I.  A.  Bennett,  J.  C.  YanLoo  of  the  P,  E.  Church, 
Revs.  R.  C.  Ransom,  H.  C.  Kealing,  E.  C.  Morris,  S.  N. 
Brown.  W.  H.  Day.  I.  X.  Ross,  John  Hurst.  B.  F.  Watson.  H. 
H.  Proctor.  M.  W.  Clair.  A.  C.  Garner,  W.  H.  Brooks.  G.  R. 
Waller.  J.  M.  Waldron.  S.  J.  Comfort.  S.  D.  Rivers.  T.  W. 
Henderson.  W.  A.  Creditt.  W.  D.  Norman,  W.  J.  Howard, 
E.  B.  Gordon.  Wm.  H.  Brooks.  R.  R.  Ball.  G.  \Y  Moore,  W. 
H.  Weaver,  S.  X.  Yass,  W.  M.  Alexander,  M.  C.  B.  Mason, 
S.  L.  Corrothers.  J.  T.  Jenifer.  W.  W.  McCary.  Prof.  Jesse 
Lawson.  Prof.  Ira  Bryant,  Prof.  J.  R.  Hawkins  and  I.  G. 
Penn  are  prominent  lay  workers.  In  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Father  Augustus  Tolton,  who  was  ordained  abroad, 
became  famous  in  this  country  for  his  eloquent  sermons.  He 
died  in  1891.  Other  colored  priests  are  Rev.  J.  Henry  Dor- 
sey,  Rev.  C.  R.  Uncles,  Rev.  J.  J.  Plantevigne,  Rev.  Theobald 
and  Rev.  I.  H.  Burgess. 


A  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  NEGRO  217 


Every  minister  who  feels  the  responsibility  of  his  office  is 
a  mighty  lever  for  the  race,  but  unless  the  ministry  is  en- 
couraged and  supported  by  the  lay  members  of  the  church, 
their  efforts  will  be  greatly  hampered. 

It  has  become  quite  a  common  thing  among  a  certain  class 
of  colored  people  to  deride  and  belittle  the  church  and  the 
ministry  as  though  Religion  were  invented  yesterday,  by  Ne- 
groes, for  each  other's  beguiling.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  in- 
fidelity and  agnosticism  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  Negro. 
But  let  all  the  kindreds  and  tongues  and  peoples  of  the  earth 
conspire  together  against  Jehovah ;  let  them  sneer  at  His  wis- 
dom, His  justice  and  His  might ;  let  them  forsake  His  cove- 
nant and  throw  down  His  altars,  let  them  slay  His  prophets 
with  the  sword;  let  them  make  of  His  house  a  den  of  thieves; 
even  so,  may  He,  who  holds  Creation  in  the  hollow  of  His 
hand,  and  yet  marks  the  sparrow's  fall,  behold,  and  see  the 
Negro,  though  persecuted  and  afflicted,  though  cast  down  and 
almost  destroyed,  still  clinging  to  the  Faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints,  still  looking  up,  even  though  through  blood  and 
tears,  to  the  ETERNAL  GOD. 


THE  END. 


Contents. 


Chapter  I-A  TALK  WITH  THE  CHILDREN.  Page    5 

Chapter  II-GEOGRAPHY  OF  AFRICA— Illus- 
trated by  a  new  map.  9 

Chapter  III-ANCIENT  CIVILIZATION— Contains 
a  sketch  of  "hoary  Moroe,"  the  populous  and 
busy     Ethiopian  kingdom,     which  flourished 
more  than  three  thousand  years  before  Christ 
— Egypt — Abyssinia — Carthage.  -  13 

Chapter  IV-EXPLORATIONS     IN    AFRICA- 

Tells  of  the  work  of  Mungo  Park,  David 
Livingstone,  Henry  White  Baker,  Henry  M. 
Stanley.  -  _  -  19 

Chapter  V— MODERN  AFRICA— Refers  to  the 
European  powers  which  claim  portions  of  Af- 
rican soil,  and  tells  of  the  powerful  tribes  of 
native  warriors — the  Yuroba,  the  Ashanti, 
Basutos,  and  of  the  famous  women-soldiers, 
the  Amazons  of  Dahomey.  -  27 

Chapters  VI  and  VII  tell  of  the  early  struggles 
and  present  prosperity  of  Sierra  Leone  and 
Liberia,  West  Africa,  respectively.  -         -  38 

Chapters  VIII  and  IX  give  a  sketch  of  the  Negro 
in  Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo,  Jamaica,  Ber- 
muda and  Brazil,  recounting  the  deeds  of 
Toussaint  L'Ouverture  and  of  the  Maroons.  54 

Chapter  X— SLAVERY— Shows  how  old  and  how 
evil  the  system  of  slavery  was  and  how  most 
of  the  races  of  the  earth  have  been  enslaved 
at  some  time  in  their  history.  -  74 

Chapter  XI— THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  COLONIES 

— Tells   of   the  landing  of  the  first  slaves  and 

of  their  condition    in    the  several  colonies  for 

about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  -  81 


Chapter  XII— THE  DAWNING  LIGHT— Marks 
the  faint  beginning  of  intellectual  develop- 
ment ;  gives  the  stirring""petition  of  the  Bos- 
ton Negroes  of  i  773;  tells  of  Phillis  Wheatley, 
Benjamin  Banneker,  Prince  Hall,  CrispusAt- 
tucksiand^others.  -  -  -  Page  90 

Chapter  XIII-THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  REVOLU- 
TIONARY WAR.  1 01 

Chapter  XIV— THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  FIRST 
HALF  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  GENTURY- 

Tells  of  Negro  heroes  of  the  War  of  1812  ; 
outlines  the  work  of  Lundy  and  Garrison  ; 
sketches  the  insurrections  of  Gabriel,  Den- 
mark Vesey  and  Nat  Turner  ;  explains  the 
Underground  Railroad.  -  108 

Chapter  XV-THE  LIGHT  GROWS  BRIGHTER 

— Notes  the  first  Negro  Convention  ;  schools 
for  Negroes  in  a  few  states;  work  of  Prudence 
Crandall;  Mysterious  Knights  of  Liberty; 
early  doctors,  lawyers,  authors  and  teachers 
of  prominence.  1 19 

Chapter  XVI— FREDERICK  DOUGLASS- So- 
journer Truth,  Harriet  Tubman,  Frances  El- 
len Watkins  Harper.  133 

Chapter  XVII-AN  EVENTFUL  DECADE-Op- 
eratious  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  ;  tells  of 
Dred  Scott;  the  Missouri  Compromise;  work 
of  Miss  Myrtilla  Miner  ;  famous  Negro  Musi- 
cians of  the  period  ;  John  Brown.  -  146 

Chapter  XVIII— THE  NEGRO  IN  THE  CIVIL 
WAR— Brave  deeds  of  Negro  soldiers  ;  Port 
Hudson  ;  Fort  Wagner  ;  Fort  Pillow  ;  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation.  -  157 


Chapter  XIX^-FIFTEEN  YEARS  OF  FREE-DOM 
— Negro  churches,     schools     and     colleges  ; 
Colored    American  Opera   Company  ;    Freed- 
men's  Bureau.  -  -  Page   168 

Chapter  XX-HELPS  AND  HINDRANCES.  178 

Chapter  XXI— TWO    WAYS    OF   THINKING— 

The  Radical  and  the  Conservative.  -  189 

Chapter  XXII-THE  LIGHT  DIFFUSED— Con- 
tains biographical  sketches  of  about  fifty 
prominent  Negro  men  and  women  of  the 
present  day  and  the  names  of  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  out  of  the  multitude  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  along  various  lines.  202 


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